Deja Vu
by KirbyVictorious
Summary: I've tried to create an image of a new Link-Link-the-somewhat-coward, Link-who-acts-like-a-kid-really-should. I've also attempted to bring the video game aspect into a novel's perspective-please R
1. Preface and Chapter One: Clock Town

_**Preface**_

_I remember the first time I stayed over at __Malon's__ when I was eleven—in mind and body. It was fall, and her ranch was covered in fallen leaves and frost; she taught me how to ride a pony all day, and when the sun went down we sat by the fire while her dad made us apple pie. She asked me if I liked it, and I nodded—I didn't even know what it was—but the moment I tasted it, I knew I hadn't done it justice. Nothing, nothing at all that had ever been in my mouth had tasted so sweet and hot and wonderful. It was better than sweet spring water from the Lost Woods over fresh strawberries; it was better than anything that could ever have come from __Kokiri__ Forest. _

_No matter what happens to me, I hope that I will never, never forget that day…there are so many memories I don't want to lose, but they keep __slipping__ away like grains of sand…. _

Déjà vu.

In Hylian there was no word to describe the unsettling familiarity, the eerie feeling of _I've done this before, but I can't remember when. _Giving a word to it would not have helped Link much—he still wouldn't have remembered when or why. But maybe it would have been a little more bearable to know how to explain it.

There were many feelings his vocabulary didn't have the ability to define: déjà vu, a sort of distracting buzz in the back of his head saying _something's wrong, but I don't know what, _and the odd sensation of living a lie, having a mismatched body and brain—one too old, the other too young. But there was one feeling that dominated the rest, a feeling he knew and could sum up very well: fear.

He had first known fear when he had seen monsters in his home, Kokiri Forest, things with no souls and darkness dripping out of them as he'd fought them off wildly with his fragile shield and tiny dagger. However, he was stronger than most of them, and the fear lessened over time; he could do it with no more fear or guilt than cracking open an empty nut, for that was all they were.

But then he had seen the demons' queen, Gohma, a curse in the shape of an enormous spider…. He'd frozen, and only the thought of the Deku tree, guardian demigod of his home, and the knowledge that the spider was sucking the life out of him could galvanize him into action. As Gohma had died and crumbled away he'd fallen to the ground, his rapid heartbeats rocking his entire body, paralyzed by the mere thought of the monster.

Over time the larger creatures as well failed to scare him; occasionally one would come at him with the shape and agility of a sentient being, and only when he saw the darkness that composed them was he able to strike. They were all hollow, mere puppets of something bigger; killing them meant nothing. They usually came back later anyway, refusing to remain defeated for long.

Link had seen no worse injuries than a bruised cheek before his eleventh year, but in his journeys after that he saw violence everywhere he went. Homes, cities, cultures destroyed; people disappearing and died; people being used by darkness and cursed by hatred—this frightened him as well, and he wouldn't have been able to go on if he hadn't reminded himself that he could help, he could defeat the monsters that hurt people…and thank the goddesses that he hadn't hurt anyone….

…yet.

There was Nabooru, of course…she had been used as a puppet by two witches…he'd seen only the darkness and attacked, failing to recognize her beneath her armor and shroud of evil. And she had died…he had not killed her directly, but it was his fault. Again, he had to convince himself of his own virtue before he could go on…. Nabooru had been used by the witches, who served Ganondorf, the creator of all the monsters and misfortune in Hyrule. By killing the witches, he was hurting Ganondorf, and the closer he came to killing the evil king, the better.

And he finally had…. Nothing, nothing at all could have prepared him for that battle.

Fighting for one's life is not like fighting an inferior monster, or even a larger and smarter demon; Ganondorf's creations were made with barely a fraction of his overall strength, none really equal matches for Link as he had grown and improved. They all had had a weak spot, a way to be defeated that required only speed, intellect, and a special tool. After so many hits they were dead; all he had to do was find the flaw and pummel it a few times.

But Ganondorf was a mortal being, shrewd and strong, constantly changing strategy and moving with frightening speed. Link had felt panic closing in on him, dulling his senses and reactions, and could only think, _I'm going to fail, I'm going to die, __he's__ going to kill me, _as he dodged, blocked, and scored clumsy hits wherever he could.

And he'd gotten away…for a time. He and the Princess Zelda had run, but Ganondorf had caught up…he had trapped them and unleashed unnatural power to transform himself into something resembling an enormous beast. And again he'd moved erratically, unpredictably, and violently, crashing after Link and swiping at him with eighteen-inch claws when he tried to gain some distance, but he was blind, thoughtless, consumed by darkness, and this made it easier for Link to destroy him. Princess Zelda and her sages had locked him away for good, and peace had returned to Hyrule.

And that's when Link's memories ended. He had found himself drifting around in a strange place, everything in his mind a blur; all he could remember were the strongest memories, like apple pie, meeting eleven-year-old Zelda for the first time, Gohma, Ganondorf. They stood out, lucid and bright against a myriad of unfocused images.

He knew Zelda had sent him back so he could live his live properly this time, as an eleven-year-old boy should. The threat to Hyrule was over; the fear should be gone for good.

So then…why was he still afraid?

And he was, he truly was…. He found himself eleven and vulnerable, with only his short dagger for protection, surrounded by monsters, darkness, and déjà vu—the unfamiliar combined with the familiar. Ganondorf haunted his dreams and lurked on the periphery of his thoughts; he skulked behind trees and walls, waited for Link in the darkness. Link ran away from him, wishing desperately for better memories to drown Ganondorf's out; he became convinced that Ganondorf had escaped the Sacred Realm and was after him, and Link was not eighteen or strong or brave anymore—he couldn't do it, he couldn't beat him this time, not in this strange place so close to and yet so far from his beloved Hyrule. The fear heightened, strengthened, tainted every breath and footstep and set him constantly on the edge.

Link was a foreigner in his own homeland, a native in a place filled with strangers…and no matter what he did or where he went, he was always, always afraid.

Chapter One: Clock Town

Link found himself outside a familiar city. Clock Town, said the sign by the gate, though he wasn't sure why he could read the strange lettering.

It was made out of the wrong stone, said his brain, and there was no drawbridge or castle. He couldn't say why the city should have these things; all he knew was that the tower rising over the walls seemed wrong, obtrusive. And yet it was familiar, eerily so; he'd seen it before. Déjà vu.

He didn't want to go in there; he was scared of it and wanted very much to run away. But there were monsters out here, and he was too hungry to keep fighting….

He braced himself with a breath and a firm grip on his dagger, and stepped through the gate; blinking in confusion at the sudden light and noise, he kept carefully in the shadows as he absorbed the strange city.

The tower was bulky, thick, and just WRONG altogether; it was a clock tower, an institution that he was very unused to, yet seemed somehow fitting for this city. It was a maze of a place, with alleys and plazas and streets thrown together and high walls surrounding it all, shops and stalls crowded together as life flooded through the narrow channels. The people that passed him without a glance were strangers, there was no doubt of that; he knew nothing about them, not even a name…and yet he felt that he'd seen them all before. He saw things like Hylians, yes, but also rock creatures, fish creatures, strange little things here and there that no one paid attention to—they were something new and frightening, yet he was as unsurprised as the city folk to see them. Though strange, that they should be in a Hylian town….

Link followed his feet and found that he knew where he was going. The layout of the city was ingrained in his mind, just not a part that he could conjure up and view as he wished; it was more a sort of memorized path that his feet would remember long after his mind forgot. He remained in the shadows as much as he could as he passed a patch of grassy land like a park that was familiar, with a bench and a playground that was not; he followed an alleyway down several turning, labyrinthine paths and emerged into a bright and bustling plaza.

A platform rose in the center of the plaza with stairs attached—obviously a place where public announcements were made. Behind it was the clock tower's entrance, and in its shadow was a little stream that flowed straight through a grille in its wall. A few stalls lined an entrance out of the city, the venders calling to shoppers as they brandished their wares. Link smelled something like cinnamon—like warm apple pie—and couldn't bear his hunger anymore. He scurried through the crowds, out of place in his green Kokiri tunic and hat and tough little boots; it did not help that no one in the city was carrying a weapon of any kind, either. Mothers with their children edged warily away from him, and he felt many harsh, curious, or frightened stares at his back as he approached the stall.

Warm baked apples with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled generously over them; Link's mouth watered at the sight and smell of the food. He was too small to be noticed by the busy vendor, who only saw him after he had slipped the apple off the platter and taken a heaven-soaked bite. Wonderful, so wonderful, so like apple pie and yet so different…déjà vu, but in a good way….

"Hey," snapped the vendor, glaring down at him—what a strange accent he had, and the language filled Link with even more overwhelming déjà vu; like his but not like his. "You gonna pay for that, kid?"

Pay…oh, yes. Link had forgotten about money. He dug in his bag for rupees he was not entirely sure were there; but to his surprise, he found quite a bit of them piled together at the bottom. He took a few green rupees out and set them carefully on the stall, keeping his eyes down.

The vendor scooped up the tiny green rupees and frowned at them, and Link, afraid, opened his mouth to ask if that was enough….

…but nothing came out.

Link tried again, his eyes widening in fear—nothing happened, nothing moved, his vocal chords remained still and silent…he tried desperately to form a word, one word, but all that came out was a hoarse, shaky breath…oh goddesses, oh goddesses, he couldn't speak—

The vendor grabbed the front of his shirt, and suddenly Link found himself dangling two feet off the ground with their noses pressed together. "What in the Dark Realm is wrong with you?" the vendor snarled. "What is this? What, you think you can pay with pretty colored glass, kid?"

Link tried to cry out, but nothing happened; he was mute, unable to explain or understand. Why was this happening to him?!

"Hey! Answer me!" the vendor growled, shaking him hard—Link's vision blurred with the motion and sudden burning tears, and he kicked and struggled and made motions with his mouth that were supposed to create sound of some sort, but didn't. The baked apple slipped from his fingers as fear overtook him….

But the apple never hit the ground; Link's honed ears heard nothing falling underfoot. As he realized this he was suddenly released; he landed on his feet and reoriented himself at once to see a strange man pulling the vendor politely back. The new man walked with a slight hunch beneath a bulky haversack, a broad grin situated permanently on his face, his bright eyes staring at everything at once; and Link's apple was in his hand.

"Hehehehehe," chuckled the man—the hairs on the back of Link's neck rose at the sound. "There's no need to be so…VIOLENT, is there?" He dug into his pocket and pulled out what looked like four ordinary green rupees, only Link sensed at once that they were strange currency quite different from his own. "There, no harm done." He handed Link his apple, which he took and bit automatically, his heart still pounding in his chest. "Come along," said the man, beckoning with a finger and turning away. He strode toward the clock tower in an odd way reminiscent of Gohma, but Link could see no more darkness than usual in him—still, was he expected to follow this stranger?

But the vendor was still glaring at him, and there was nowhere else to go, so Link, on his toes and preparing to run away at the slightest provocation, followed closely behind the strange man as he led him through the entrance of the tower.

The man closed the double doors behind him and gestured to the inner doorstep, his pale hand flashing in the dark. "Why don't you sit and eat?" he offered. Link was too tired and hungry to argue; he flopped onto the step and started decimating his breakfast, munching on every bit of edible fruit including a good bit of the core and sucking dry whatever was left as his eyes grew accustomed to the dark.

"My, you were hungry, weren't you?" the man said with another approving chuckle. "Stay put, and I'll bring you some more—don't move, now, that would be very unappreciative."

Link nodded—if he was getting fed, he wasn't going anywhere. His hunger dulled his sensed, and his dagger gave him too much confidence—he had never heard of poison in Hyrule, and wouldn't have thought of it now regardless.

The man chuckled and disappeared, the light temporarily blinding Link as he watched him go.

Stomach still growling, Link turned and took a good look around the room. All he could see in the gloom was a metal railing leading downward and then turning. Curious, he stood and placed his hand on it, following it down a sloping path and around a hairpin curve. Down here was the stream he'd seen before, which turned a few gears and levers bigger than he was; these continued upward until he could no longer see them. A bridge crossed the stream, but all there was on the other side were a few patches of fungi and a door.

Link crossed to the door and took a good look at it. For some reason he could not fathom, he wanted very much to go inside it; but there was no handle, gap, or hollow for his hands, and no matter how he pushed and shoved it was as unmovable as the stone it was made of. He stood there and stared at it for a long time, fighting back tears again; first he was trapped here, and then he was suddenly mute, and now this….

The door leading to Clock Town opened, and the man's voice called him. He jumped and hurried away from the door, the smell of food beckoning him irresistibly. The man offered him a clay plate piled with food and chuckled yet again as Link sat down to devour it.

"I did tell you to stay put," said the man. "You mustn't go wandering around down there, a gear could fall and crush you or the stream could sweep you away. You are a rather curious child…. Heheheheh."

Link nodded, too busy eating to ask questions. A dozen different delicious things were piled in front of him, many that he could not even begin to describe—he ate every bit of it except a few bite-sized pieces of what looked like grilled fish; Kokiri did not eat meat. The man did not miss a single detail.

"You don't eat living creatures, do you?" He chuckled. "Yes, I thought you wouldn't." He watched Link lick his fingers for a moment. "I knew that you were from the Forest the moment I saw you."

Link froze with his finger in his mouth; he removed it, wiped his hands carefully on his tunic, and looked expectantly up at the man with his hand set firmly on his dagger. The man grinned and chuckled.

"Yes, I know where you're from, and I know how you got here, and how you can go back. But don't be too hasty now—" the man wagged a finger at Link as he jumped to his feet. "I didn't say I would tell you."

Link scowled at him and drew his dagger halfway—he wasn't taking no for an answer.

"None of that," said the man calmly. "Allow me to introduce myself." He held out a hand for Link to shake, which he merely glared at. "I am the Happy Mask Salesman, traveling from place to place, from world to world to sell my wares. To Hyrule, to Termina—what does it matter? All have wonderful wonderful masks to buy and sell." He bowed with a flourish. "And you, young sir?"

Link could only blink at him, feeling frustration simmer within him as he was forced to remain silent.

"Ah, I see." The Salesman nodded. "You can't talk. That's fine, just fine—silence is sometimes needed to contemplate the mysteries of the world."

Link scowled at him.

"Do you remember how you came to Termina?" the Salesman inquired politely. Link thought about it, then shook his head—he really couldn't say he did. "Well, I can remember it clearly; it was just a few days ago. You came out of that stone door downstairs—Hey!"

Link heard nothing after that—he took off and ran, skidding down the path until he smacked into the door. He started pounding it with all of his strength until the skin on his hands split and started to bleed; why wouldn't it open, _why wouldn't it open?_

He stopped, panting, and threw a desperate, hateful glance at the door and at his bleeding hands. As he fought the urge to cry, clenching his fists against or perhaps in spite of the pain, a tall, thin shadow fell across him.

"If you would have let me finish," the Salesman said patiently, "I would have told you that it sealed behind you. Quite troublesome, really; I use that door to travel from Hyrule to Termina and back again. Now, I can open it again, of cou—"

The Salesman chuckled as Link swiveled around, the dagger point quivering at the Salesman's stomach. "I can," he repeated, "but quite truthfully I do not want to. You see," he continued, ignoring Link's dangerous glare, "something was stolen from me. And something was stolen from you too, young Kokiri—do you remember what?"

This threw Link off quite a bit; he faltered and blinked, trying to remember. And suddenly he did, and felt the unmistakable pang of loss clench his stomach—he jerked his bag open so hard that a few stitches split and started rummaging wildly through it. Where was it, where was it, _where was the Ocarina of Time?_

"The ocarina?" queried the Salesman with a knowing smile. "Yes, I saw you fighting with him for it; he stole your pony too, you know, a pretty copper thing. I was coming out of Termina, you see, my businesses completed for a time—this door leads right into the Lost Woods, do you know of them? Yes, you would; the Kokiri are a wonderfully friendly people by the way. But I saw you from the shadows—he ambushed you and stole the ocarina and the horse, and you chased after him through here…he put a dreadful curse on you, you know, but nothing I couldn't handle with the Song of Healing. And I saw him coming and made to stop him—I recognized you, of course, the princess declared you a knight—" _She did? I don't remember…. _"—and I like to keep up with the news. But he attacked me too, the dreadful ruffian, and stole…he stole…." The Salesman's face suddenly transformed with fury. "HE STOLE MY MASK!"

Link started and backed away as the Salesman started to pull at his hair and rock back and forth with anger and grief. "My mask, my beloved mask, the one mask I would never sell! Majora's Mask! He took it, he took it, the DIRTY THIEF!"

Link blinked in confusion as the Salesman sobbed for a bit, and then the minor breakdown was over; the Salesman stood tall again, wide, eerie smile back in place.

"Do you know of the Majora's Mask?"

Link shook his head.

"Then I shall tell you. Many ages ago, there was a tribe called the Majora that practiced dark and evil arts in the names of false gods. They were wicked and cruel, and showed no mercy to themselves or any other; with their black magic they created a Mask that contained their darkest powers and would bring out the evil in any being who wore it, strengthening him until he had enough power to match the gods. It was a terrible power that no mortal should possess, and the Majora were destroyed because of it.

"Now, never mind how I got that mask, but it's very valuable and my favorite, really—and I desperately need it back. Young man, how about a deal—if you find that fiend and get back my Mask, I will open the door for you and lead you back home. Will you do it?"

Before he had even finished speaking, Link was nodding fervently. Simple, it would be too easy…all he had to do was fight one monster and he could leave!

"There is a slight problem, though…." The Salesman was still smiling, but in another sort of way entirely. Link's stomach plummeted. "You see, I need to leave here in three days from tomorrow, young man, because in three days this world will not be a very happy place. Yet I cannot leave without my Mask—if it does not leave his hands and return to mine, it will not matter which world I am in—both will be very unhappy places indeed, and I do not like unhappy things. So if you do not return with the mask in three days, I will be forced to leave you behind. Is that clear?"

Link nodded and swallowed, suddenly nervous—three days?! How was he supposed to find the thief in three days? And he didn't even know who he was….

"Good. All you have to do is find that wretched Skull Kid—do you know the Skull Kid?" Link, surprised, nodded—the spirit in the Lost Woods had been the mysterious ally in many of his games. "Ah, yes, I thought you might. He is not the same as before; he is twisted and evil from the Mask's influence. You must get it away from him at any costs, young man, or he could very easily destroy the world. In fact, I'd say he's already begun."

Link gulped again. The Salesman smiled. "As I said, the world will not be a happy place in three days. Shall I show you why?"

He took Link by the shoulder and led him across the bridge, up the pathway, and through the doors. Link winced at the bright sunlight as the Salesman led him to the base of the platform in the plaza outside, stopped him, and turned him around.

"Now look up," the Salesman commanded.

Link did, shading his eyes against the dying sun—and screamed silently, screamed and screamed in fear as Ganondorf's yellow eyes glared down at him.


	2. Chapter Two: Fairies

NOTE: read chapter one first, it's up now.

Chapter Two: Fairies

The yellow eyes were watching him.

Link averted his eyes from the giant meteor hanging in the sky. It resembled a giant sphere of rock with an evil face etched into the surface and yellow eyes that followed Link wherever he went. It was Termina's moon, and since the Skull Kid had come to possess Majora's Mask it was always in the sky, day or night. It was getting bigger by the day; in three days it would be gone.

Three days…three days to find that stupid mask, three days to get out of here, three days to live. If the Salesman—and every superstitious Terminian in the town—were correct, then in three days the world would be destroyed. And as the Salesman had carefully explained, Termina and Hyrule were so deeply connected that if one should be destroyed, the other one would eventually follow.

Link checked his bag yet again for his ocarina—nothing. The only things in there were the things he needed to survive—tinder, matches, food (a gift from the Salesman) and money. The Salesman had gladly taken the money—supposedly given to Link by Princess Zelda when she had supposedly knighted him—and exchanged it for currency that he could use in Termina. He had taken a bit more than he had given back for himself, but Link didn't mind—he owed the Salesman his life…and his service.

Why did he have to be brought here? Why, why, WHY?! Things followed him in the darkness…they watched him with yellow eyes as he tried to sleep…he found it impossible and strolled restlessly down the city's alleys for awhile, but they still followed even when he had started to run….

Eventually he was too exhausted to move anymore. He chose a resting place—a sort of garden with a pool and a chorus of frogs—and curled up beneath a bench, shivering with cold fear. The things grew braver and drew closer, closer, closer, until they could almost touch him, but they didn't; they just stood around him and mocked him.

_Leave me alone, _he would have said, had he possessed the power of speech again. _Get away from me…._

He could not kill them…he could not even see them. He was completely at their mercy. As more came, as they closed in on him, he started to cry—why was all of this happening to him? After all he'd done, why couldn't he just be happy in his forest?

As he curled up and sobbed with fear beneath the bench, something happened to the dark spirits—they seemed to back away from something nearby, very slightly, and then disperse altogether. Link felt their absence and looked up—a tiny sphere of light was dancing away and back again, hesitating, little gossamer wings fluttering anxiously behind it.

Link squinted at it for a long time. _Navi_he whispered.

Navi, or whoever the fairy was, drew back again, then grew bolder and approached him. He sat up, scrubbing tears from his eyes, and held out his hand for her.

_Navi_he thought—he didn't need to speak aloud for her. Though he may have gotten a fairy very late in life, they were just as deeply connected as any of the Kokiri pairs. _Where have you been, __Navi__? I've been looking all over for you…._

And he had been, he recalled—he'd been in the Lost Woods because he had been looking for her. Somehow, when he'd been sent back in time, she had disappeared. He had felt empty and sad without her….

The fairy finally spoke…and her voice, to his dismay, was familiar—and unfamiliar. She was not Navi at all. "Um," she said softly, "are you okay?"

He sighed, drew his hand back, and shook his head, turning away so he wouldn't have to face her.

"I…I'm really sorry about what happened…before…really, I am…he made me do it! Well…not really…."

Link arched an eyebrow at the fairy, confused. She seemed startled; her wings flew rigidly upward.

"Don't you remember? In the Lost Woods…?"

Link shook his head, slowly this time. The fairy shrank in defeat.

"Oh…you don't remember anything? Okay then…. Um…I'm Tatl. My brother Tael and I…we…we WERE friends with Skull Kid, but then he started doing awful things…Tael's still with him though, so I can find him, easy! And…I've been following you—don't be mad!—and I think you can get that Mask away from Skull Kid…you can, can't you?"

Link stared at her.

"Can't you talk?" Tatl asked him warily. He shook his head. "Oh…I'm sorry…. But, well, do you wanna know where Skull Kid is or not?"

Link sighed and nodded—if he was ever going to get out of here, he'd better get started.

"All right…I know where he is, but I don't know how to get there and…and no offense! …but I don't know if you can beat Skull Kid now. He's gotten too strong…but I can help," Tatl said quickly as Link glared at her. "I'll take you to the Great Fairy, she'll help you out! And she's really smart, she has great advice…come on!"

Tatl bobbed away, then turned back and seemed to beckon him; he sighed again and reluctantly followed. At least her light kept the monsters away….

"...and maybe the Great Fairy can help you talk again…or she can at least tell me your name….." Tatl chattered on as she led him through the sleeping city. Link tried his best not to look up at the glowering moon as he made his way to the part of town he had entered from, where the small park and an inconspicuous hole in the wall lay. Tatl led him to the hole and bossed him around until he crawled through, following him to the other side.

It was instantly cool, but in a good way; he shivered not from the cold, but from the intangible yet obvious excess of magic in the air. The muddy ground disappeared a few feet away beneath a pathway of stone, leading to a circular cavern with a clear pool resting within. Link approached the pool cautiously, reaching out his hand to touch one of a million little golden specks like miniature Tatls that flitted and darted through the air.

"Oh no!" squealed Tatl. "Great Fairy, what happened to you?"

And a broken, hoarse voice answered, the echo of a grander woman's: "Tatl…Tatl, is it…you?"

"Great Fairy, I'm here, I'm here! Who did this to you?!"

"Skull…Kid…I underest…imated…his power…."

"SKULL KID!" Tatl glowed red with fury. "Don't worry, Great Fairy, I brought you someone that can help! See, here he is!"

The little golden specks congregated in the center of the fountain and carefully approached Link, swirling around him in a golden haze; he tried not to breathe any in. His stomach churned, and he felt sick—how was this helping him? What could the Great Fairy do in this state? He recalled the Great Fairies of Hyrule, the ones who had blessed him with power and weapons, and shuddered as he looked again at the myriad of golden specks.

"The Hero," murmured the Great Fairy's voice. "I can help you, Hero, but first you must help me…find the last piece of me hiding in this city, quickly, and I will aid you."

Link wanted to mutter something very rude indeed, but he could not speak. He'd wasted seven years of his life before doing errands for supposed royals…he hadn't minded at the time, but now all he felt was bitterness.

The Great Fairy's fragments moved closer to him. "You must be brave, Link," she told him softly. "You must believe in the good of what you're doing, or soon you will cease to be on the right side of the battle."

Link stared at his boots, puzzled—what did she mean? What battle, and what did it matter which side he was on?"

"Selfish desires are what caused this darkness," she whispered to him. "Now go, find my last fragment…then I will help you, but first you must help yourself."

She withdrew; Link backed clumsily away and turned to run—anything to get away from that eerie echoing voice, the whispering demon that wanted him to turn against himself…he had never been brave, but he WAS good…he WAS….

He scurried out of the cave and ran to the park with Tatl close behind, climbing onto the playground and burrowing himself into a corner. He shivered with the sudden cold, feeling tears prick his eyes again…what did she know, the stupid fairy, she wasn't even a whole person….

He immediately felt sickened by his own cruelty—what was the matter with him? The self-doubt made it worse; he didn't know who he was anymore.

"Hey!" Tatl bobbed in front of him, wings fluttering in agitation. "What are you doing? We have to find that last piece, the Great Fairy said so!"

Link brushed her away and hid his face…he was still so tired….

"Please, Link? You can sleep after, I swear…. PLEASE, Link, she needs you, you couldn't feel how much pain she's in! Please!"

It MUST hurt, to be shattered into a thousand pieces…Link shuddered at the thought and hugged himself more tightly, wishing the darkness would go away.

"Please, Link? I can't do it without you…you gotta help me beat Skull Kid, Link, he's got my brother convinced that he's right and my baby brother…he can't know any better…please, Link…."

A good person, said Link's mind, would do it—a truly good person would get up and put their own needs aside for everyone else. The Fairy's words whispered across his mind—_selfish desires are what caused this darkness—_and he felt sicker than before. What was happening to him? Why couldn't he be like he used to; why wouldn't he just help her?

He hated the sadness in her voice, hated the thought of being selfish and evil…. So he pushed himself up, dusted himself off, and stared at his feet, waiting for Tatl to say something.

She bounced with excitement and happiness, and for a moment he felt that all this might be worth it somehow. "Great! That's great! C'mon, Link, I think I already know where to start!"

She took off, and he ran after her, wishing more than anything for the sweet relief of sleep. He forced himself to keep his eyes open, searching for the tiny golden speck in the darkness. Tatl led him through all four parts of the city, zooming this way and that and searching in tiny places that he could not reach. He fell behind, and she slowed; but even so, he was too tired to go on before they saw any trace of the fairy piece.

He sank to the ground and rested his head against the cool stone of an abandoned alley, shivering from the cold. Tatl flew at him, bobbing dizzily with worry; he hid his face from her bright light and ignored her pleas.

"Link! Link, are you okay? Look, I promised you could sleep after we found it, and you can, but we HAVE to get it now! Link, c'mon!"

He did nothing, said nothing, ignored her presence entirely.

"Link! Liiiiiiiiink! Link, c'mon!"

Tatl persisted in vain; finally she gave up, ordering him to stay put while she searched alone. She took his silence for an agreement and disappeared, calling in her tiny voice for the fairy piece. Link watched her go, a familiar painful emptiness creeping into his chest. Without her light, the shadows closed in on him again, and there was nothing he could do to make them go away, no matter how much he begged them in his mind. Curious, malevolent ghosts with bright yellow eyes, they grinned with malice as they trapped him, growing closer and closer….

Tatl heard him crying and came zooming around the corner, but she was too late—the monsters had already touched him, filling him with icy, empty darkness. He shivered and sobbed with fear as Tatl babbled meaninglessly above him, alarmed and afraid.

"Link, Link…it's okay, Link, I'm sorry, I won't leave again if you're scared of the dark, I didn't know…."

He understood nothing she said; she seemed to sense that she wasn't helping, but was too moved with a pity that tinted her aura a light purple blue to do nothing. She dulled her glow slightly and moved closer, creeping in between Link's arms and cuddling against his chest. She had no physical warmth about her—she did not even possess a body of any kind—but she exuded goodness and warmth, and he felt the pressure in his heart ease and disperse. He felt a sudden, unexplainable tenderness for her, and carefully took her little glowing self into his hands and hugged her close, still crying but feeling more like himself, more GOOD than he had ever felt in Termina.

"Everybody has a fairy, you know," Tatl told him quietly. "Even if they can't see it. It'll be okay, Link, I'll be your fairy now…you don't have to be sad anymore…."

He had no words to show her his appreciation or even acknowledge that he had heard; he curled up around her, pressing her firmly to his cheek like a child with a doll. Navi was brave and defiant and good, Navi had kept the darkness away when he had faced Ganondorf…without a fairy he was nothing, half a person. But Tatl….

Tatl gasped. "Link," she whispered, "look!"

He looked up and immediately let her go, limp with wonder: a tiny glowing golden speck hovered at the end of the alley, swaying nervously in their direction, the final fairy piece.

Link sat up and stared at it, and Tatl froze with anticipation: "Hey!" she called cautiously. "Great Fairy! It's us, come on, we'll take you back…."

The tiny dot seemed braver and flitted carefully toward them, stopping to hover a few feet away. Link, filled with awe and the thrill of success, automatically reached out his hands to welcome the little thing. It came closer, seemed to want to come, but it still paused just out of reach; it was nervous, afraid.

"Come on," urged Tatl, and Link gave it a beseeching look…he wanted to hold it and feel happy again….

The fairy piece backed away, and Link suddenly understood; it was afraid of him. His arms dropped, and his eyes filled with tears again; alarmed, the golden speck started and flew away, darting around the corner. Link started to cry in earnest again as Tatl flew after it, leaving him alone in the darkness.

But she was not out of sight long; she flew back, pressing herself against his chest again. "It's okay, Link," she soothed him. "Fairies don't like sadness and crying and dark things, they like it when people are happy and laughing. Cheer up and it'll come back, I promise…c'mon, Link, you gotta cheer up…."

She let him hug her until he stopped crying at last, then detached herself and bounced around his head. "Hey Link, why'd the Great Fairy call you Hero? Did you do something?"

He nodded.

"What? Save the whole world?"

He nodded again, but then made a face.

"Why…it wasn't very fun, was it?" No, it was not. "But you're good at fighting, arencha Link?" Yes. "Ah, I knew you were! You shoulda seen Skull Kid when you jumped him in the Woods…he would've run off screaming if he didn't have that mask…." Tatl made a dramatic noise and pretended to quiver in fear, and Link couldn't help but smile. He saw the golden fairy shard approach, coming nearer by the second, but made no note of its presence.

"And Tael wanted to play your ocarina, but I wouldn't let him because he can't sing worth a rupee, he sounds like a toad being stepped on by a Keaton…you better not let him sing or you'll be deaf too…."

Link laughed soundlessly, and Tatl flew in loops and helixes with mirth; and suddenly the fairy piece was close, and Link held out his hands, and it came, settling in his palms like a docile butterfly. He held it to his face, and it touched his nose briefly and seemed to smile at him.

"You did it!" Tatl squealed, bobbing about with joy. "C'mon, let's go back now—"

Link held the little fragment carefully as they made their way back to the fairy fountain. The little golden speck followed Tatl into the hole in the wall as Link followed after them, his weariness eating away the relief and joy he had felt before. The fairy piece zoomed away to rejoin its fellows, who welcomed it with bright glowing and swirls of happiness. Link edged closer to get a better look, thoroughly confused and dizzy from the speck's recital. The swarm of gold twirled about and pieced themselves together again, and the Great Fairy was suddenly standing before him.

She was a tall, slender woman with thick orange hair that flowed to her knees, clothed in a dress made of vines. She had the perfect, generic features of demigods and radiated a bright golden glow. She hovered in the air, bending down so she could peer into Link's face.

"That's better," she whispered, and smiled. "Link," she said in a louder voice, straightening herself, "Skull Kid is going to destroy this world with the power of that mask—you know that. But Tatl was right—you don't have the strength to stop him by yourself." She gazed thoughtfully at his answering scowl. "I understand you've faced worse before, Hero, but you understand that you no longer have the body of a hero. You will have to work to gain that strength again, if you want it. And before you did not work alone; you had the sages to help you. Nor do you have to work alone this time."

Link blinked at her; the Great Fairy took his face gently in her hands, her breath like wild clover and honey. "Magic," she whispered, closing her eyes, and at once Link felt a wonderful power coursing through him, the feeling of strength and the ability to achieve the impossible. He smiled as the familiar sensation coursed through him—he had forgotten.

"Magic!" Tatl bounced excitedly, swooping around Link to get a closer look. "Wow! Link, you can do MAGIC? Showmeshowme—"

Link and the Great Fairy ignored her. "What weapons do you have, Hero?" the Fairy asked him. Link slid his shield onto his arm and unsheathed his dagger to show it to her, making a helpless gesture; _This__ is all I have. _The Fairy studied it critically.

"If you want a stronger weapon," she said slowly, "You should visit my sister to the east. And my sister to the west can give you a stronger shield…but for now…."

And she raised her hands, forming a shimmering sphere of light between them; it grew and brightened to a blinding intensity, then dispersed. The Great Fairy plucked the wooden bow, just Link's size, from the air and handed it to him along with a tube to put it in and a quiver full of arrows. He looked it over excitedly, admiring the make, the string, the weight.

"It is a good bow," the Fairy said approvingly, "and will never break. And that is all you will need, Link."

Link froze, staring incredulously at her. _This was all he needed? _Skull Kid had an evil ultra-powerful mask and enough power to make the moon fall from the sky, and all he needed was a bow and some magic to defeat him?

"You have something he does not," the Great Fairy assured him, as if she could read his thoughts. "And you have your memories."

Link, eyes wide and disbelieving, pointed an accusing finger to the outside world and held up three fingers. _I HAVE THREE DAYS TO SAVE THIS PLACE AND YOU GIVE ME THIS?! _

"You'll be all right," the Great Fairy assured him. Link stared at her until Tatl nudged him.

"Thank her," she hissed. "We gotta go."

Link made a face, bowed to the Great Fairy, and ran out of the fountain and into the sunlight. Three days to find Skull Kid, beat him with his tiny bow and dagger, and get the Dark Realm out of this world—this was ridiculous! He'd had seven years to get stronger the last time….

"Link?" Tatl said shyly. He glanced at her, then kept going. "Link, remember? I know where Skull Kid is…."

Link skidded to a halt, giving her his undivided attention now. Finding him would have been the hard part…considering their time limit. He glanced at the moon, then looked quickly away.

"Link, he's up there…he's on the Clock Tower," Tatl murmured. "He likes to stand up there and watch everything…that's where he pulled the moon down from…."

Link pointed to Clock Town's tower for confirmation. "Yes," Tatl assured him. "But Link—Link!"

He ignored her, running at full speed for the southern plaza where the clock tower entrance was. Tatl called after him, bouncing around his head, but he brushed her away and kept running—the quicker he got this over with, the quicker he could get home….

He paused to open the door, and that's when Tatl struck. "LINK!" she insisted, flying into his face. He scowled at her. "The entrance is up there," she told him, gesturing upward; there was a platform twenty feet above his head, sure enough. He shrugged and made for it, but she stopped him again.

"Link, it's not open."

He shrugged.

"It's not gonna open until the day after tomorrow."

This made him pause. What? He gave her a look, and she explained with a sigh. "I tried to tell you. The door to the clock tower only opens on midnight of the night of the festival, which is in three days."

Link made a frustrated gesture—three days was too long! The moon would fall by then!

"I can't do anything about that! We just have to wait until it opens…we can prepare before then, we'll be ready…."

Link made gestures with his hands to ask the question; how did Skull Kid get up there in the first place?

"I dunno. He probably used that mask. I bet he's up there now…if we could find somewhere high, we could see him…Link, we'd better get familiar with this town, there might be someone here who can help us…Link?"

Link blinked and rubbed his eyes, swaying on his feet. _I have to sleep first, _he told himself, and looked around dazedly for somewhere soft.

"Oh," Tatl murmured. "We better find you a bed…let's try the inn, maybe they have somewhere…you've got money…."

Link followed her to the east end of town, where the door to the inn sat unobtrusively around a corner. He pushed it carefully and entered, taking in the inn's shady coolness, its generic dark green color scheme, its worn front desk and dirty, scuffed floors. It wasn't especially clean, but it was homey, and he felt welcome—his house in the Kokiri Forest hadn't been especially clean either. He cautiously approached the front desk.

"Welcome to the Traveler's Inn," said the young, nervous-looking woman behind the desk. "I am Anju. Are you, perhaps…Mr. Link?"

Thoroughly bewildered, Link nodded. Anju smiled a smile that didn't touch her eyes. "Good, we have a room for you…right this way…."

He followed her into a hallway and up some grimy stairs. "It isn't very clean," she murmured to herself, running a finger along the moldy wallpaper. "I haven't felt up to it since Kafei…since he…."

She led him to a room halfway down another sunlit hallway, handing him the key. "Thank you for visiting," she said vaguely, and drifted back downstairs. Link unlocked his door and studied his room; dirty, yes, but tidy, everything in its proper place even if dust-coated. It had a bed, a chest of drawers, a fireplace, and a table, and not much else. He rather liked its simplicity; it felt very much like home.

He took off his boots and climbed into the bed; Tatl settled by his shoulder, and her warmth kept the darkness away as he slept.

Link slept all night and woke just before sunrise, too comfortable to get up. He slept in until Tatl awoke a couple of hours later, jumping up and bouncing around his head until he was annoyed enough to move. He put on his boots and went to explore the inn, open by now; a bath and breakfast would have been very nice indeed. But the inn was determined to be its dirtiest; it possessed no bathroom that he could access, and the breakfast was nothing but a grisly sort of porridge. Anju dithered about, mostly sitting against the other side of the front desk, murmuring to herself how little she felt like doing anything since Kafei…but that was as far as she ever got.

The other tenants, twin dancers and twin jugglers and a haughty man who looked like a very rich Ingo, passed and paced by now and again; the dancers were friendly and said that Anju hadn't cleaned anything or done anything right for the past few weeks. One recalled that Kafei was the name of her boyfriend, who was missing. Link felt bad for Anju, but he realized that there was not much he could do; and anyway, if he didn't hurry, she'd be a flaming bloody doorstop like the rest of the world in two days.

Link left the inn and headed for a place called Laundry Pool, where the stream formed a pool for people to wash in. Tatl politely looked away as he stripped and climbed in, scrubbing himself with a rock from the bottom. He swam around a little bit, enjoying the peace as long as he could. Tatl bounced against the water's surface, light enough to skim along like a water bug, then dived into the water and lit up the murky bottom. It didn't matter to her either way; she needed no air and had no skin.

He lay on the bank awhile to dry, then dressed again and looked around, recalling what Tatl had said yesterday. If they could find a high place, they could see what Skull Kid was doing….

"You should probably look around for someone who knows the city," Tatl suggested brightly. He followed her, drifting through the familiar-yet-not-familiar town and people-watching. It was ten o'clock, and mothers were out shopping while their children played in the streets. Link noticed a conspicuous lack of people, especially men. He mimed the question to Tatl.

"A lot of 'em ran away, to other places," she explained. "Since the moon is falling and everything. And the men? They've all been recruited as soldiers, I bet; skull Kid's been causing havoc, and someone needs to fix it all." She nudged Link pointedly; he felt a nervous knot in his stomach. Tomorrow night….

In the eastern plaza, Link's eye caught something suspicious: a group of boys younger than him gathered together and whispering. He studied them, and then one caught sight of him and alerted the rest; immediately they swarmed over to him, until Link, startled, was surrounded.

"HI! Where're ya from? What's with the funny clothes? I like your hat! WOW IS THAT A KNIFE?! What's that glowy thing? Who are you why are you here--?"

Link let Tatl fly into his hat, blinking in confusion. He tapped his throat to show them that he couldn't speak. "Awwwww!" they chorused in unison, then continued pelting him with questions. "Well whatcha here for? Do you need anything 'cause we know everything and everyone in the whole town, yes we do—"

Tatl prodded the top of his head. "Ask them!" she whispered. How? Link wanted to ask, but instead he mimed as best as he could that he needed to see somewhere high.

"Ah! The secret place the secret place!" The boys slapped hands and laughed excitedly with some unknown secret. "We'll show ya—"

"Hold on now!" said another little boy, taller than the rest; the other four snapped to attention. "We can't just bring him to our hideout! It's a secret! He has to pass the test first!"

The other boys shared awed glances with each other. Link waited warily to see what this game might be.

"Hide and seek," declared the leader.

Link rolled his eyes.

The morning and half the afternoon were spent chasing all five of the kids down after a one hundred sixty-seven second start or something; Link didn't bother waiting long enough; he shrugged and followed the footprints of the kids. Perhaps he could have found them all sooner if he hadn't stopped for lunch and a nap in the sun; they weren't the best hiders, though they could run pretty fast. At half-past three, Link had won the game.

They led him to their hideout, which seemed questionable to Link at first; a downward path led to an underground dungeon-like affair, several spider nests, and poor drainage. But then the path ascended again, and Link found himself in a brightly colored, psychedelic jester's-worst-nightmare sort of building. The kids dragged him up four flights of stairs to meet an old guy—an astronomer who had been attacked by Skull Kid a few days ago—and stated that if he wanted to look around, this telescope was the thing to do it with. Never mind the bothersome naked eye; this thing was twice as slow and yet three times as cool. Link sighed and patted Tatl, still in his hat, before taking a look.

He was further east than he thought, and a point south as well; he was outside the city, not as high as the clock tower but far away enough to make up for it. He scanned the countryside—a forest, a mountain, a glimmer of water to the west—before setting his sights on the clock tower. At first he saw nothing, but the astronomer taught him how to zoom in, and slowly a small speck grew larger and came into focus….

What looked like an ugly imp, dressed in orange and dancing drunkenly beneath the macabre moon, was standing bold as brass atop the clock tower. Link drew in a breath and took a closer look; this was his enemy. The imp wasn't that big, about his size or maybe smaller…but he was wearing a purple mask with multicolored spikes and yellow eyes, a mask that for some reason gave him the same shudders as when he thought of Ganondorf. The imp was not intimidating, but he would be formidable. Could Link be stronger…?

He would be. He'd be ready….

That day and the one after, he persuaded the kids—who called themselves the bombers—to practice swordfighting with him with sticks, and fight him, and anything else he could think of to prepare that they'd see as just a game. He couldn't tell them what he was doing it for, but they guessed that he was going to go beat up some enemy—they admired his skill with weaponry and encouraged him endlessly that he was much, much stronger than whoever his opponent might be.

Tatl found it both amusing and endearing, and when Link was resting for a moment she told him, "Isn't it nice to have friends?"

Link shook his head; these mindless little boys weren't friends. He didn't have any here, and he wasn't going to make any….

But the part of his heart that was not tainted by Majora's darkness thought of poor Anju, and the innocent little kids, and all of the soldiers and workers too brave to evacuate with the rest. And he knew somehow that it was no good…the falling moon would destroy this entire world….

If he defeated Skull Kid and returned the mask, would it really save all of these people? Would it stop the moon, or just deliver justice to the one who caused all of this?

For the first time, Link asked himself, _Am__ I doing the right thing?_

He had never questioned himself or his duties as a hero before; if he had ever doubted, he had had to convince himself that his path was right to keep from despair, knowing that there was nothing else he COULD do. But now…what if there was something else?

"Link? You okay?" Tatl asked him. Link shook himself, nodded, and resumed his practicing.

A nervous knot began to build in his stomach on the third day; it worsened by the hour, and he wasted quite a bit of precious time hiding from the yellow eyes—twice as close now as the day he had arrived—and calming himself. _I can do this, I can do this…. _But what if he couldn't?

There was no can or can't—he had to try, and he'd only get one chance anyway. What concern of his was it if he died or failed? There was nothing he could do to stop the moon from falling then….

He assured himself, but he was afraid; he had never felt so weak, so normal, as he had imagining himself waiting for the world to end like everyone else. At least he could fight before the end…at least he had something to wait for, to live for….

By nighttime, he was alone; the boys had not run, unaware of the danger and without parents or soldiers to help them, but had insisted that it was their duty to station themselves in the town. It was the night of the festival, but there was no one in clock town. And if Link failed, there never would be.

He sat at the top of the playground's slide, sore but edgy from adrenaline and fear, trying to relax himself into the calculating, fierce battle mood, the feeling he got when he was facing a formidable opponent. _I can beat __him,__ anything can be beaten if you find the weak place…. _He was not powerless, he was not weaponless, he was prepared and strong and experienced and for the goddess's sake, he must be nineteen by now in his mind….

But technically he only had twelve years of memory or so, even though his body had at one point been eighteen, so would that make him nineteen? Or maybe nineteen, plus another eleven, so thirty? Or was he eleven, like his body? How old WAS he?

He pushed the question from his mind; if he didn't focus, he wouldn't be getting much older.

The sun's last rays disappeared, and the night wore on. The moon never moved, unless it happened to move downward; occasionally there was a bone-rattling rumble, and Link felt Ganondorf's evil eyes burning at his back. He shuddered and tried to calm himself down—_I can do this, I can do this—_as he counted each second clunking from above.

Ten chimes…eleven chimes….

Midnight….

_Donnnng_

"Link!" Tatl cried, vibrating—_Donnnng__!—_with nervousness and fear, but he was already—_Donnnng__!—_moving; in a daze—through which his mind was unaware of what he was walking into, but his body was –_Donnnng_!—painfully the opposite as it shivered, wavered, and slowed—he—_Donnnng__!—_slid through the silent streets…_Donnnng_there were no more people left in the town, no one left—_Donnnng__!—_to say goodbye to—_Donnnng__!—_or hear goodbye from….

He broke into a run—_Donnnng__Donnnng__!—_and reached the southern plaza before the clock stopped chiming.

_Donnnng_

Tatl was shaking; Link's heart was racing….

_Donnnng_

In the darkness, behind the glowering moon, the clock tower moved. Something shifted, something fell with a deafening _clunk,_ and something thudded open…a darker darkness lay menacingly at the top of the stairs leading to the entrance.

Somewhere in the city, someone let off a dozen fireworks at once.

The clock tower was open. The Festival had begun, and ended.


	3. Chapter Three: Skull Kid

Minor violence. I did say it was rated T. dumdumdum Also rather short.

Chapter Three: Skull Kid

The top of the Clock Tower was nothing but flatness, stone that curved downward at the edges yet was wide enough to forego any immediate danger at the center. Above Link, the moon was huge; it took up half the sky and blocked the light of almost all the stars. Termina stretched in all four compass directions, each its own little world. The night was still….waiting.

The imp, the Skull Kid, was uglier up close as he hovered somehow ten feet in the air; horny, dark-skinned, and misshapen. He didn't seem at all surprised that Link was there; he merely chuckled an eerie chuckle that echoed and set Link's nerves on edge. The horny little hand with its tough skin like rawhide reached inside the imp's shirt and brought out Link's iridescent-blue Ocarina of Time, flipping it easily up into the air and catching it.

"Looking for something, fairy boy?" inquired a voice that was childish, yet echoing with menace; hearing the voice—especially as it sneered Malon's nickname for him—but seeing nothing behind the mask gave Link the most frightening feeling; _this was not natural, this was not right. _

But the imp didn't have a chance to say or do anything else.

"TAEL!"

Tatl zoomed past the imp, ignoring him completely as she dive-tackled a darker, purplish sphere hovering behind him.

"Tael, Tael, where have you been, how could you leave me behind?"

"Sis!" cried Tael joyfully, and if fairies could hug each other until they suffocated, these two did just that. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still in there, did that kid get you out?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't remember any of it, poor kid, but Tael, listen—LINK!"

Link, ignoring her, lit an arrow aflame with magic and pointed it straight at the Skull Kid. _Give me my ocarina, you bastard, _said his eyes where his mouth could not.

The Skull Kid laughed his eerie, hair-raising laugh. Tatl fled to Link's side, but her brother stayed, shivering behind the imp.

"You think you can stop me?" taunted Skull Kid, in the catch-me-if-you-can tone of a child. "Not with my mask! With my mask I can do anything!"

Link rolled his eyes, tightened his bow, and gave the imp his hardest death glare. When Link had been eighteen, that glare had paralyzed enemies like a ReDead's howl. The imp was either brave, stupid, or extraordinarily strong.

"You want my mask, don't you?" the imp accused, still speaking childishly, in a voice all wrong with the tone, the pitch, the words, and the menace mismatched and ill-fitting. "You want it for yourself, you want to stop me. Well, you CAN'T, it's MINE!"

"He doesn't want it for himself," Tael said suddenly, in a low monotone. "Does he, Tatl? He wants to destroy it…it's the mask's fault…."

"Yes, Tael, yes!" Tatl cried. "Don't keep helping him, Tael!"

"Sis…do you remember…? Swamp. Mountain. Ocean. Canyon. The four who are there…bring them here, T—"

The Skull Kid let out a harsh yell, his hand swinging out and smacking the fairy hard. "Stupid fairy! Watch your mouth!"

Tael staggered and shied away, shaking harder now and seeming utterly shocked.

"SKULL KID!" Tatl screamed. "Do you think you're our friend after that? STOP IT!"

The imp cackled. "I don't need you anymore, Tatl! You only ever yelled at me. I've got better friends now! Powerful friends…."

The imp giggled and stared proudly up at the moon as Tatl quivered in anger, and Tael in fear. Link stood very still, still pointing his nocked arrow at Skull Kid. "Well, even if they did come now," the imp bragged, "they couldn't stop me! No one's taking my mask away from me, you're too late now!"

The imp cackled again, then screamed—screamed a long, vicious wail that shot through two octaves and made Link drop his bow and cover his ears, screaming soundlessly in pain. Tatl and Tael, possessing no eardrums, merely shot away in fear, huddling together in Link's shadow. A deep rumble shook Link to the core and filled his head, and he feared that he was going insane from the agonizing sound; but then the screaming stopped, and he looked up and saw the moon's dead yellow eyes glittering in the light of the fireworks—zooming at and around it like useless missiles—and staring at him as they moved closer and closer.

The moon was falling; it would destroy them first, then the rest of the town, in minutes, maybe even seconds.

_NO! _Link's body moved without his help; he knew that his dagger was useless and instead lunged for his bow, nocking a new arrow and firing again and again at the monstrosity. They missed and missed, falling short—and then they hit, exploded, hit, exploded—

The Skull Kid laughed, and Link saw through the battle haze two bright spheres diving out of nowhere to attack him—Tatl and Tael. They did nothing but annoy him, and he swatted at them like they were bumblebees, but the distraction was enough; Link nocked an arrow and fired it straight at the evil imp's heart.

It missed, of course it missed. The demonic power of the mask was something Link had grossly underestimated. But though the Skull Kid pulled himself away, he was not fast enough to escape the fairy bow. The arrow sliced deep into his arm, and he gave forth an earsplitting shriek and automatically let go of the object in his gnarled hand as black blood gushed out of the wound….

Link dove forward and grabbed his ocarina, holding it tightly to his chest. The little object that had decided the fate of another world, sent him through time, and saved him countless times…. He might die before another heartbeat, but he wasn't going without it.

Skull Kid screamed again, and Link pressed himself against the ground and covered his ears, fighting hard against the pain. The imp continued to scream, writhing in midair as he clutched his injured arm, but the scream lessened in intensity and became broken, stuttered. Link stumbled to his feet, slipped in a puddle of the black blood, held himself steady again, and looked up. The moon was a hundred yards away; he started shaking in fear, already imagining being crushed by the monstrosity.

"Help, someone, please help!" Tatl shrieked, and Tael started to vibrate and make a sound like a sob and moan combined. "Someone, anyone—we need more time—Goddess of Time! Please!"

The name struck a chord in Link's memory…Goddess of Time…?

_"Take the Ocarina of Time," Zelda had said to him before he had left. "If you are ever in need on your journey, __play the Song of Time, and the Goddess of Time will aid you…."_

The Song of Time…!

Link put the ocarina to his fumbling, quivering lips and blew a weak, shaky note.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Tatl screamed at him, out of her mind with fear. "DO SOMETHING, DON'T JUST SIT THERE AND PLAY—!"

But Link had found his calm, his ocarina peace, the inner tranquility he felt every time he played the instrument. The moon was falling, yes, but he was beyond it now…he could remember every song he'd ever learned, ever composed…the Song of Time….

The melody crept into the air, unheard over the rumbling at first…but the notes peaked, and Tatl and Tael froze in shock and wonder….Link continued to play, smoothly and softly, but the notes seemed to echo in the night until they had drowned out the Skull Kid and the moon…. It was only him now, only him and his fairy, be it Navi, Tatl, or Tael. Just them, in his own misty, peaceful little world….

He finished playing. The moon was low enough now to block out all light, all hope. Fifty feet….forty-five feet…forty….

And then everything stopped. Froze. Turned backward. Link heard a clock ticking, somewhere, as the sounds of screaming and rumbling faded and the world dissolved into white.


	4. Chapter Four: Giants

Chapter Four: Giants

In Link's dream, there were clocks everywhere, ticking, ticking, ticking, at first in sync but then all at different speeds, then drowned by the frantic pulse of his own heart. He saw himself walking down a passageway that pulled him into a doorway full of light. He saw a heavy door; he pushed it open.

And then he opened his eyes, still dizzy from the swirling of the clock's hands, and saw sunlight.

He blinked. Looked around. He was no longer on the top of the tower. Now he was in front of it. When he looked back at it, the clock face said that it was six in the morning, just past sunrise.

_What? _What was going on? When did all these people return? And…and where was…?

Tatl swooped up from behind him, dancing agitatedly up and down. "Link, what did you do?" she shouted. "Where's Tael? And Skull Kid? What…?"

She fell silent, staring, as Link was, at their surroundings. Three days ago, Link told himself, he had stood on this exact spot and watched the world pass by. He looked up at the sky: the demon moon still hung low in the northeast, leering down at the world, but it seemed small and far away after coming so close just minutes—or so it seemed—before.

Tatl understood before he did. "Link…we went back in time. It…started over."

Time had started over? Unbelievable.

Link moved slowly through the crowd, staring up at the people's faces, stunned. Everywhere he looked, at the stalls, at the wares for sale, at the people, even at the little white dog scratching itself in the shade, he felt a strange, unsettling familiarity, and knew that he had seen it all before, as if in a far-off dream. But what was the dream, and what was the memory—now or then? And which one was the truth? Was the place where he had grown up—Hyrule, the beautiful country that he had once saved—real, or just a fantasy?

He emerged from an archway and found himself in the eastern part of the town, within sight of the Stock Pot Inn. He remembered Anju, how sad she had been, and wished he could help. Well, at least he had—somehow—saved her from being squashed by the moon.

Tatl, seeming to read his thoughts, said, "How did you do it, Link? One minute I was asking the Goddess of Time for help…and then…."

He closed his eyes and thought hard about the memory that had come to him as he had touched the Ocarina. Zelda in her garden, saying goodbye. He holding Epona's reins, reluctant to leave. Her slipping the Ocarina into his hands, telling him to call upon the Goddess of Time—Nayru, in his world. Perhaps Zelda had only said that because the title "Goddess of Time" was a common title for the goddess Nayru, and Zelda had, in an alternate timeline, been chosen to carry Nayru's Triforce of Wisdom. But he had remembered, and played the Song of Time by instinct, and somehow, it had taken them back to the day Link had arrived in Termina. To answer Tatl's question, he withdrew the Ocarina, absently fingering the first few notes of the Song of Time.

"Oh-h-h," Tatl murmured, and Link knew that she understood. "A magic song. Link…do you think that will happen every time you play that song?"

He answered her in his head as he gestured his reply: perhaps, but they should not unless they had to, in case the magic could be used up.

"You're right…I just…wow! Do you know what this means, Link? We have another three days to find the…the people Tael was telling me about…they sounded familiar…."

She was quiet for a minute, thinking it over, and Link's thoughts drifted elsewhere. Did anyone remember him? Or was he a stranger again? As he watched, something that looked very much like a Goron ambled into the Stock Pot Inn, hefting his bag over his back. If he walked into the Stock Pot Inn, would a reservation under Mr. Link still be waiting for him?

He wanted, all of a sudden, to leave this place. To run away from this town, from the people that he recognized but that didn't recognize him, to find a gate back to Hyrule. To find anything that would prove that he hadn't simply dreamed everything he had ever known, to prove that he wasn't going crazy. Even if this was not, by any means, the craziest thing that had ever happened to him.

"Ohh, you found your Ocarina, did you?"

Speaking of crazy. Link turned around, cautiously, to find the Happy Mask Salesman lurking in the shadows, wringing his hands and grinning. Tatl immediately swooped into his hat, startled.

"I knew you would find it," he said cheerfully. "Because if not, you would have died, and then what would have been would not be, and we would not be having this conversation."

Link raised an eyebrow at him.

"So…." The Salesman edged forward, like a cautious spider, his hands outstretched in supplication. "You have my mask, then?"

Link stared at him. The Salesman stared back. As the silence lengthened, the Salesman's expression turned from batty, irrational happiness to purest shock, then insane rage.

"WHAT?" he cried, and Link jumped and backed away. "No! You _must_ get that mask for me! If you leave it in the hands of that creature, terrible things will happen!"

_Okay, okay!_ Link thought, holding up his hands and nodding. With frightening rapidity, the Happy Mask Salesman switched to his usual eerie calm.

"Oh, good," said the Salesman. "_Thank_ you. But I see…you'll need to see the giants first, won't you?"

Link blinked at him. _This guy has been chewing way too many Magic Beans,_ he muttered to himself. _He's crazy. _But he obviously knew what had happened—and, it seems, knew more.

Before he could ask, the Salesman reached into his enormous haversack and handed Link a crumpled square of parchment. "This is a map of Termina," he said with sickening enthusiasm. "You will need it. To the north are the mountains, to the south is the canyon, to the west is the swamp, to the east is the ocean—et cetera." He grinned so widely that Link wondered if his head would split in half. "I believe that's all you shall need. Bye!"

And with that, he slunk back into the shadows and disappeared, leaving Link clutching the map and staring open-mouthed after him.

"How creepy," Tatl muttered, and peered at the map. "Well, I know where everything is in Termina, we didn't need a map…but I'm still thinking about what Tael—hey! Link! Wait! Where are you going? Hey! _Listen!_"

But Link had already made up his mind to visit the Stock Pot Inn.

Inside, the lights were bright, but the inn was as dirty as ever. Anju sat at the counter and stared listlessly at the wall; as Link watched, she heaved an enormous sigh. He walked up to the desk, which was almost as tall as he was, and tapped on the wood.

Anju's eyes slid slowly to him, then blinked. She sighed again as she sat up straight and turned his way. "Are you looking for someone?"

Link shook his head. Anju bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there are no rooms left." She gave a small bow. Link frowned. Last time, he had had a reservation….

"Are you…are you here for a room?" she asked when he didn't leave.

Link considered it, then shook his head.

Anju leaned forward, her eyes suddenly bright. "Is this about Kafei?" she whispered, looking more alive and hopeful than Link had ever seen her. "Are you answering my flier about him?"

Link nodded—he really did want to help her find Kafei. Whoever that was.

Anju sat up and clapped her hands, and suddenly Link remembered where he'd seen someone just like her before, in Hyrule—a young, pretty woman who raised and bred chickens even though she was allergic to them. He had stayed in her house for a night, when he had been older. And she'd thought him very handsome…which unnerved him, for he had had the mind of a young boy still, and had never realized what romance was like…. But of course, this Anju wouldn't remember any of that.

"Right this way," she said eagerly, and led him down the dim hallway which led to the open kitchen and to two other doors. Most of the rooms were upstairs, but there was one down here across from the locked bathroom, and Anju unlocked the door of the other room and led him inside. It was a small bedroom, cluttered, but rather cozy.

"Please make yourself comfortable," Anju said amiably, gesturing to a pair of armchairs by the fire, blazing despite the heat. Link sat down, glancing at the other armchair's occupant, a frail old woman so wrinkled that he wondered if she had bones.

"There you are, Tortus," the old lady said to him in the loud voice of the slightly deaf, her hands shaking visibly as she stitched at a long, lacy white dress. "Come to hear a story?"

"Now, Granny," Anju scolded gently as she rummaged through a closet. "My dad isn't even here, and he's far too old for stories now. Don't bother this nice young man."

"Tortus wants to hear a story!" said the old lady peevishly. "You hush and be respectful or you can sew your own wedding dress!"

Anju sighed, giving Link an apologetic look. He was curious at the mention of a wedding dress, and wondered why Anju needed it—he remembered her having a brother, but not a boyfriend. He looked around the room, but all he saw out of the ordinary was a life-sized, faceless doll wearing nothing but white gloves and shoes, a veil, and a strange mask, half silver and half white, that looked like the moon—the normal, pretty one, not the one about to crush the world. "You'd better hurry then, Granny," Anju said. "The wedding is in four days."

"Tortus needs his story first," persisted the old lady. Anju sighed, murmured an apology to Link, and slipped out of the room to fetch some tea; once the door had closed again, her grandmother turned her rheumy old eyes to Link. "Now, Tortus, which story do you want to hear? What about your favorite, about the brave young Zora? Or how about the one—"

"What are we doing here?" Tatl whispered into his ear, annoyed. "We're wasting time!"

Link ignored her.

"…or maybe the one about the Festival Giants, so appropriate for this time of—"

Tatl started, then hopped anxiously up and down. "Link! Link!" she cried. "Pick that one! Quick!"

Link nodded as hard as he could, reaching over to touch the old lady's hands. She smiled warmly as she set down her needlework.

"That's a good boy, Tortus," said the old lady. "Now, you know all about how the Festival came about, don't you? Every year the people would come together and celebrate the bountiful harvests. And the Four Giants would come too! One from the North, one from the South, one from the East, and one from the West. And they would celebrate with the people for weeks and weeks.

"But one day, the Giants said that they were leaving. 'We will not be far,' they assured the people. '100 steps in each direction will take you to where we lie sleeping in the temples. If you ever need us, call for us, and we will come.' And ever since, the Giants have been gone in all but memory. But every year we still celebrate the day that they came! And we wait! One day they'll come back, Tortus, don't worry."

Link's mind was reeling; he blinked. Swamp, Mountain, Ocean, Canyon, one in each compass direction. Could these giants be the ones Tael meant?

"That's it!" Tatl cried. "Link, those are the people we have to find! Tael wanted us to ask the Giants for help! That's it, they promised to help, and we need them—let's get going right now!"

But at that moment Anju walked back in, more animated and lively-looking than Link had seen her yet; she set a tray of tea and stale cakes clumsily on the nearest table, then backed into the chair across from Link and stared at him. "You were going to tell me something about Kafei, weren't you?" she said, twisting her hands anxiously in her lap. "Do you know anything? Have you found him? You _are_ searching for Kafei, aren't you?" she added desperately when Link gave her a blank look. "If you are, I can help, I can tell you all about Kafei—"

"What's that about Kafei?" Anju's grandmother interrupted loudly. "Will he be back in time for the wedding? Has something happened to him? Has that useless Mayor sent someone to find him yet?"

They were very alike, Link thought—and they both seemed to like Kafei a lot. He wondered if he could find Kafei, and if he and Anju would get married if he did…he thought that he'd liked her a lot, when they'd met in Hyrule, and she couldn't be that different….

"I don't _know_ yet, Granny!" Anju sighed, turning back to Link. "Please—isn't there _anything_ new that you can tell me?"

Link hesitated, then shook his head—he felt awful for misleading her, he'd only wanted to help….

"Oh—oh, I see—you need my help, then?" she said fretfully, her face falling. "I—of course I—yes, Kafei is a little older than me, he has very dark hair, and blue eyes, and he's the Mayor's son, and he's my fiancée, we were engaged before all this frightening talk about the moon…he disappeared weeks ago, though, but I—this will sound crazy—I received a letter from him. Just yesterday." She hesitated, glancing at her grandmother, who was absorbed in her knitting, then murmured to Link, "I've written a reply…I've copied the address on it too, if you want it…please deliver the letter if you see him or if you don't need the address anymore, I'm sure the mailman will know where he is, he delivered it to me, after all…."

Link nodded, accepting the letter cautiously—he could not believe that he was involved in this, about to try and deliver a love letter…. Tatl was nudging him impatiently; it was time to leave. He stood up, slipping the letter into his pocket.

"Oh—you're leaving?" Anju said, surprised and dismayed. "Yes—good luck with—with finding him—and please ask me if you need any help at all…."

He nodded reassuringly, making his way as swiftly as he could to the door. "Tortus, make sure you're back for dinner!" he heard Anju's grandmother cry, but then the door swung shut behind him.

He darted down the hallway, running up the stairs and through the first unlocked door he found, which led to a small, deserted balcony. As soon as he was alone, Tatl swooped out of his hat and bounced anxiously up and down. "What are you doing?" she cried. "We have to go find those giants, remember? Let's go!"

Link made a helpless face, shrugging in confusion.

"What—no, no, it's really simple, Link! There's nothing to it! Just—look, let's start with the swamp, all you have to do is count out a hundred steps from the clock tower, it's easy! Let's go, Link, let's _go!_"

He knew it would not be so easy—he had an uneasy feeling in his stomach about it—but he did as she said, acutely aware of her anxiety; he dodged his way through the crowds—thicker than they had been the last time he had roamed these streets, for no one had evacuated yet—toward the southern plaza, but all the time he was fingering the letter in his pocket, worried about Anju, finding himself unconsciously scanning the crowds for a man with dark hair and blue eyes. And while Tatl bounced anxiously around him, while he made his way to the base of the Clock Tower, he was, all the while, thinking of what he could do to help….

But there was nothing—nothing at all. And he knew that…. Sighing, he went to the first postbox he saw and dropped Anju's love letter inside, hoping that somehow Kafei would receive it and make his way home.


	5. Chapter Five: Swamp

Chapter Five: Swamp

Link stood at the base of the Clock Tower, orienting himself so that he faced south, toward the raised platform and a far-off gate guarded by a soldier. "One hundred steps," Tatl reminded him, and he nodded, taking one carefully measured step forward.

Something touched his shoulder; he jumped and spun around, but it was only the Happy Mask Salesman. He was holding out a pack, which Link took with a questioning look.

"You forgot this the other day," the Salesman explained. "Well, not the bag, that's a gift from me to you—made for holding many masks, you see? But the mask inside is already yours—yes, that's the one," he confirmed as Link reached into the pack and pulled out the only mask in there, a wooden one that looked eerily like the little shrub creatures that he had seen once or twice around the town—the structure of the face unnerved him; he had a feeling that he'd seen that face once before, looking up at him from beneath a pool of water. "Oh, don't put it on," the Salesman said quickly, with a broad smile that made Link shiver. "You see, I doubt you'll remember, but when you first came to Termina you were under a curse—you had the form of a Deku Scrub. The Skull Kid did that to you," he added to Link's troubled look, and Link felt his hands tighten around the sides of the mask, his blood boiling. "Yes, it was a horrible curse, and painful—I have seen something like it happen once before, to a young Scrub whom I was too late to save. But I found you in time, and cured you with the Song of Healing—remember it?"

Link did not—or perhaps he did…he pulled his Ocarina from his pocket and slowly touched it to his lips, closing his eyes. The Salesman hummed a couple of notes, and Link instinctively mimicked him, then finished the song, a slow, sad, melancholy tune.

"Yes, yes," the Salesman said, satisfied. "Remember that. It has the power to heal regrets, curses, and even injuries, sometimes. And as for the mask, don't wear it until you need to, for the curse put on you is contained inside it—it will turn you into a Deku Scrub if you put it on." He chuckled as Link hastily dropped the mask back into the bag. "Well, good luck on your journey, Link," said the Salesman, waving cheerfully, "and remember to keep your masks safe—you never know when you can use them!"

And then he slipped inside the Clock Tower, closing the door firmly behind him.

Link shook his head slowly; Tatl said, "I know—he gives me the creeps. Well, come on, Link—let's go—one hundred steps from the Clock Tower—"

He nodded and walked forward, counting thirty steps before he was stopped—the guard at the gate blocked his path with a spear, telling him firmly that the swamp was no place for children. Sighing, he silently convinced the guard that he could defend himself, showing the man his blade; the guard was finally, reluctantly forced to let him pass, muttering under his breath, "A _sword_? Even _I _haven't got a sword…."

Outside Clock Town's thick walls was a vast plain reminiscent of Hyrule Field; it faded into thick woods in front of Link, who marched resolutely down the steps and across the long grass, still counting his footsteps as they led him across the field and into the heart of the woods.

He had only walked seventy-six steps before a putrid stench made him gag; he wrinkled his nose at it, slowing as he ventured forward. He was nowhere near any swamp, despite how many steps he had taken, and was beginning to wonder if the Giants of the story had meant _Giant_ steps, or at least grown-up steps.

"What?" Tatl demanded as she saw his disgusted expression. "What's wrong? I don't smell anything!"

He shrugged; the smell seemed to be wafting toward them from straight ahead, getting stronger. He made his way forward very cautiously, on the lookout for whatever was emitting that horrible stench; he drew his sword when he heard a faint rustling in the bushes, not too far away. He saw yellow-eyed monsters watching him, but he knew that they would not attack unless they were together in a large group—they were the cowardly sort of monsters. He had not seen any in Termina so far, but they disappointed him; the first monster to approach him was no more than a possessed bat, screeching as it dived at him, the kind of thing he'd seen a hundred times in Hyrule. He killed it with one blow, to teach the others a lesson; after that he saw no more eyes following him in the gloom of the woods.

Long after he'd counted a full hundred steps, long after he'd given up with the whole counting business, he noticed the landscape changing; the ground was becoming damper, muddier, and the trees, which had seemed young and healthy before, now grew thicker, older, more gnarled. The horrible smell was overpowering now—it reminded him of raw sewage, though he knew it was not pollution, but something very different…something evil….

And then several things happened at once: he heard a strange buzzing noise—he stumbled, his boot sinking into several inches of dark water—and a few droplets of what felt like acid splashed onto his leg; he winced, jumping back onto semi-solid ground, his boot steaming slightly, though it looked unharmed. And he looked around and saw that in between the trees, now, was not bare earth, but dirty, purplish-brown water….

"What happened to the swamp?" Tatl yelped. "What happened, it's never been like this before! What—it _burned_ you?" she gasped, and Link looked down at his shin, which had a raw red blister on it, steaming a little just like his boot, and hurt quite a lot. "Is the water _poisoned_ or something? Wait—what's that noise?"

The buzzing noise, which Link had momentarily forgotten about, was getting louder; he peered curiously through the trees, keeping his feet firmly in place, and caught a glimpse of a strange contraption: a wooden raft of some sort, pushed through the waist-deep water by an enormous propeller. It was steered by a burly man who sat in the back, looking grumpy. As Link watched, he called something to a creature that Link could not spot in the gloom, who made a squeaky reply; then the creature hopped into sight, bouncing easily on the surface of the water. It was one of the shrub creatures he had seen in Clock Town, a little person that looked as if he were made of wood, with leaves for hair and clothes, his eyes a fierce yellow, though nothing like the eyes of the monsters still lurking in the woods. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen anything like it before.

"Oh! Link! That's it! That's a Deku Scrub—they can hop over the water—where's that mask? Maybe it'll help you get through here!"

Link nodded, but only reluctantly pulled out the Deku Mask, which scared him a little. Would he still be himself if he wore it? What if the curse were to break free and consume him again?

"Come on," Tatl urged him. "You know the Song of Healing, you'll be all right…."

He sighed, then found two leather ties on each side of the inside of the mask and grabbed them, lifting the mask to his face, his fingers fumbling to tie the strings behind his head. However, there was no need; the moment the mask touched his face, it latched on, and he could not pull it off; he let out a silent wail as he stumbled backward, knocking into a tree, his body shifting painfully, caving in on itself, morphing before his eyes….

The transformation only took a few seconds; when it was over with, he looked at his hands, which were rounded, with short, stubby fingers, and then at the rest of him, which was clothed only in a green kilt much like his tunic, though his wooden feet looked very much like his boots. He still had all his things, though the Kokiri sword was almost as tall as he was now. He tugged at his hair, which looked and felt like dried yellow grass, and adjusted his hat, unable to frown: Dekus did not seem to have a very wide range of expressions.

He looked around; colors were brighter, especially blues and purples, the shadows were not so dark, and it hurt his eyes to look up: the pure sunlight was too strong for him. He did not have a nose; he tasted smells instead, the poison of the swamp thick and revolting on his tongue, though he could not close his mouth—he did not want to anyway, for how would he breathe? His sense of touch was, surprisingly, as acute as ever, though he seemed to be made of wood; he was, however, quite clumsy, and not as mobile as he had been minutes before. He did not even have any elbows, though he could bend his arms slightly in any direction, like flexing branches—it was difficult, but not painful.

"Try walking on the water," Tatl said, seeming completely unconcerned by his transformation.

Link hesitated, then took a shaky step forward, unused to his new body. To his surprise, his feet did not sink; he felt an unpleasant burning sensation on the bottoms of them, but it was nothing that he could not bear for a minute or so.

He took another step forward; he still did not sink, though the water beneath him rocked unsteadily, threatening to knock him over. And he did not know if he could swim in this new body, or if he'd sink if he were knocked off his feet….

He tried hopping instead of stepping; to his amazement, this was much easier than walking, and it eased the burning on the bottoms of his feet. He hopped delightedly forward; it was as easy as leaping from puddle to puddle in the rain, though a lot more interesting, as he could watch frogs and fish swimming around underneath his feet, unconcerned by his presence as they wove through the thick weeds.

Up ahead he could see a building raised on stilts; he inspected it cautiously, reading the sign in front. "Swamp Tours Start Here_",_ it said. There was another propeller-powered boat docked beneath the building; he noticed with a shudder how unusually sharp their prows were and was careful not to touch.

A wooden dock surrounded the building, then branched out to head to the west: Link followed it, scurrying forward on his short, powerful little legs, finding that he could laugh—a little squeaking sound that made him sound very young, he thought, or very girly. Tatl darted all around him, spinning through the air, nervous about their mission but happy that he liked his new body.

The dock soon became unstable, even for his light, hollow-feeling husk of a body; it seemed that the poison in the water was stronger here—it wafted from the swamp in thick purple fumes—and had been steadily eating away at the dock, collapsing it in several places. When it was no longer safe to trust, Link resumed his hopping, following the ruins of the dock until he found solid land. It was a large island in the midst of the swamp: to his surprise, a stream of fresh water flowed through the grass, emptying into the swamp. A big, clear vat of the clean water sat in plain view, bearing a sign that said, "Freshly Bottled Spring Water For Sale—Inquire With Kotake at the Magic Hag's Potion Shop!"

Kotake? A memory struck him suddenly—the names Koume and Kotake, and an image of the two witches that had killed Nabooru….

He did not know what to do—or where to go from here: he did not know where the Giant was.

"Link," Tatl said suddenly, "why don't you take off the mask? I just want to be sure that you can, you know…."

Link was not too sure about this himself, but he reached up to his head, where his ears had once been—and was surprised to find two crevasses on either side of his face, just big enough for him to slip his fingers into and pull.

The effort pried the mask off of his face, and in a single instant he felt his body stretch and grow and turn back the way it had been—

And then he was looking down at his real hands, skin-and-bone, and he was wearing his tunic again, and everything about him was back to normal. He was holding the mask; he slipped it over his shoulder, into one of the compartments of his new pack, glad to be back in his old, comfortable body.

"That's good," Tatl said approvingly. "Come on—let's go talk to these Hags. I don't want to go anywhere else, we'll get lost."

Link nodded, frowning grimly—maybe the name was a coincidence, but if it was not, he was ready to fight them, to avenge Nabooru once again…. He took off his boots and stepped into the stream, which felt wonderful on his blistered feet, wading upriver toward the so-called Potion's Shop.


	6. Chapter Six: Hags

Chapter Six: Hags

Link found the Potion Shop easily enough, set on stilts in a freshwater pool over the bubbling source of the water right at the center, but when he had burst inside, sword raised, he had frozen. Inside the shop, there was nothing but a vast, cluttered collection of random objects piled here and there, a counter, a set of shelves covered with bottles of brightly-colored potions, and an old, wizened woman, fast asleep, snoring slightly with her head on the counter. She didn't look like a Hylian, or like anything in particular; she was wearing black, and had a very large beak of a nose, and her headband was set with a large blue jewel.

That jewel was very familiar to Link…_she_ was familiar to him—she was Kotake, one of the witch twins that he had battled in another place, another timeline….

He had wanted to attack her, but now, as he watched her twitch slightly in her sleep, he couldn't picture it, couldn't make himself hate her anymore. He sighed, then edged forward, hesitating before prodding her with the tip of one finger. She was surprisingly hard and bony, as if there was nothing to her but a few scraps of tough muscle clinging to her bones.

She blinked, then sat up slowly. "Hmm?" she said, her voice high and squeaky and shrill. "What do you want? Have you come to buy some fresh water? Or one of my potions? They work very well, they do…."

Link shook his head. Her politely interested expression fell, replaced by vague annoyance. "Well, what do you want then?" she demanded. "I was sleeping…."

He shrugged. It was disturbing, really, her behavior…she sounded like any other crotchety old person—she reminded him of the doctor that lived at the edge of Lake Hylia, an old and slightly senile man who liked to eat frog eyeballs—but he did not believe her threatening, not at all. She did not have that dark energy around her that she'd had in Hyrule…. But of course, there was no Ganondorf here, not unless this world was determined to be as much a nightmare as it could be to him, so if she had no one to serve….

"Do you want directions or something?" she sighed, pointing back the way he had come. "Look, my sister's the tour guide, not me—the tours start at that cabin a little ways east of here—I assume you have a boat of some sort? If you ask those people, they'll help you…not my sister, though, she's gone missing since yesterday morning," said Kotake fretfully, her face suddenly falling—she looked miserable, and it frightened Link to see that expression on a face he hated so much. "I hadn't slept all night, not a wink, I was waiting up for her—I thought she'd be back by evening, but she wasn't—we got in a fight, you see, because she left me here all alone while she went to be a tour guide, but when we made up she promised me some fragrant mushrooms…but she hasn't come back…tell me, young man, are you heading for the Deku Palace?"

Link hesitated, then nodded; he had found that it helped to let people assume things about him, as they would divulge a lot more information if he talked a lot less.

"Wonderful! Then—then would you—mind helping me? Just a small favor? I can't leave my shop, you see, in case she comes back…."

This time Link did not know how to reply; he hung back, alarmed by this request. "Link!" Tatl hissed beneath his hat, tugging on a strand of his hair. "Come on, she's a harmless little old lady, you've got to help her! Don't be so selfish!"

This, more than anything, goaded Link; he wanted to make an angry retort, but then he realized that she was right. This Kotake was not the same as the one he had known—she was not the four-hundred-year-old devil witch that had tried to kill him, though she was probably still really old. Still, she was not evil, of that he was certain…he nodded, and smiled shakily at Kotake's delight.

"Ah! Thank you! Here, take this—" She handed him a small bottle filled with red potion. "And please keep an eye out for Koume! If she's injured, let her drink this, it will make her better—but if she's fine, give her this note—wait," she murmured, pulling a quill and a scrap of paper out of nowhere and scratching a quick message onto it. She handed it to Link, who dropped it into his pocket. "The Deku Palace is in that direction, north-northwest I think—there should be signs. And by the way," Kotake added with a faint smile, "my sister is very adept at removing curses, for a nominal fee of course…if you find her, ask her to help you speak again!"

Link nodded, frowning slightly as he moved away. Tatl sighed in his ear as he started down the ladder. "Don't let her tempt you, Link," she said sternly. "I bet it's a scam, and anyway you're not cursed. I think I'd know if you were! I could tell last time!"

Link just shook his head, venturing in the direction Kotake had indicated. Not being able to talk made him grumpy.

Suddenly Tatl froze where she was, hissing a warning; Link drew his sword and spun around, scanning the trees with narrowed eyes.

"Ook," said a polite voice, and he looked up to see a snow-white monkey with a tan face watching him from a tree branch. He immediately sheathed his sword; Tatl darted toward the monkey and circled him, but the monkey didn't seem too bothered.

"Look for hurt witch Koume?" it asked him. "Is up ahead, ook."

Tatl seemed unsurprised that the monkey could talk; Link wasn't too surprised either. It sort of looked like the kind of monkey that talked, and it was still not the strangest thing that had ever happened to him. He nodded in answer to its question; he thought it might have been a boy monkey, but he wasn't sure.

"Hmm…follow me!" said the monkey, and it jumped to the ground and started to run in an awkward, though very swift, fashion, pulling itself forward with its knuckles. Link followed it in a weaving pattern through the trees, not in any certain direction, taking hairpin turns and sharp lefts and rights; the monkey, glancing backward and seeing his confusion as he slowed a little, said, "It magic woods."

And then Link understood—the Lost Woods in the Kokiri Forest were very much the same; the path he and Saria had liked to take had required such steps as running in a complete circle around a particular tree….

After a minute the monkey stopped its weaving and turning and started to bolt forward in a more or less straight line; Link ran behind him, barely able to keep up, wondering if he was really hearing the chorus of more monkeys up ahead—and then he saw their snow white fur, and slowed as the monkey pranced forward, circling a limp, black-clothed form on the ground….

Link, startled, knelt by the old woman on the ground, shaking her gently, noting the red stone set in her headband, certain that this was Koume. She did not look well at all; her skin was chalky, her face bloodless, and he thought her robes might be torn across her back.

"Help…meee…," the witch murmured.

Hands shaking, Link withdrew the bottle of red potion from his pocket and pulled out the cork; Koume opened her eyes and sniffed at the potion, a bit of her color returning. "Kotake's," she mumbled, and opened her mouth; Link poured the potion into it bit by bit until she had swallowed it all. The moment she had finished with it, she coughed and sat up, looking perfectly healthy; "Whoaaa!" she cried joyfully, jumping to her feet. "Koume is revived!"

Link gave her a wary glance, corking the bottle and placing it carefully in his bag for later. For the first time, Koume seemed to notice him.

"Thank you for helping me!" she said, her voice sounding exactly like Kotake's. "That Skull Kid snuck up on me and attacked me from behind—I underestimated him, he's much, much stronger than I thought he would be! Wait until I tell Kotake!"

Link, remembering Kotake's message, handed Koume the piece of paper; Koume read it, then nodded determinedly.

"Thank you—I'd better go, even if I haven't got any mushrooms! Thank you, boy—I work as a tour guide, why don't you come down to the shop for a free tour sometime?"

Link nodded; Koume, satisfied, reached for a broomstick abandoned on the grass nearby and jumped on top of it, soaring into the air, over the trees. Link watched her go, feeling very wrong-footed indeed.

Something tugged at his tunic; he looked down to see a cluster of three monkeys looking up at him with big brown eyes. "You have strange powers, ook," said the monkey that clung to his tunic—this one he was certain was a boy, which made the other one a girl. "Me smell them on you, ook—been watching you! Our brother go to fix poison swamp, ook—go to Deku temple with princess. Was attacked by monster, 'scaped, Deku King won't listen, ook. Brother in trouble! Please help brother!"

"Temple?" Tatl repeated, her wings stiffening in surprise. "Link—the temple! That's where the Giant will be!"

Link nodded, both to her and to the monkeys; the lead monkey, delighted, did a backflip, then said, "Yes! Yes! follow!"

Link followed them at a run as they swung through the trees, swiftly changing into a Deku when they moved over water—but before he had gone a hundred yards the monkeys stopped, backtracking with shrill, frightened cries, cowering behind him. Link edged forward, heart pounding, and saw a familiar creature blocking the way: a purple squid that shot balls of hard venom at the surrounding shrubbery, making a rough, hoarse sound deep in its throat. It was enormous; he didn't see how he could get close enough to it to kill it, even with his pathetic little sword. Its hide was too tough for anything but a blow directly to the face.

He sighed. What now?

"Well that's great," Tatl complained. "Link, can't you kill it? You've gotta try!"

But he could not—and even attempting to would give away their position, and the poor monkeys were so scared….

And then he had an idea; he had thought, suddenly, of those boats with their razor-sharp prows, and Koume offering him a free tour through the swamp….

He smiled as he picked up the nearest monkey and headed back through the swamp, Tatl trailing behind him, nagging him persistently as he went.


	7. Chapter Seven: Deku Palace

Chapter Seven: Deku Palace

Koume did not seem particularly pleased to see him, or interested in him at all; she was a brusque, blunt woman, but Link sort of preferred her that way. It would have made him very uneasy if she were nice to him. As it was, though, he was very uncomfortable with her driving the boat through the swamp; quite aside from not liking to turn his back to her, she seemed a bit blind, or maybe just careless, and knocked into the trees more than once.

Link kept well back from the prow, tensing, waiting for the giant squid-creature to come in sight. When it finally did, he decided to sit down, peering over the spearlike prow, wondering if Koume would see it.

She did—but to his alarm, and Tatl's, instead of slowing or stopping she shrieked, "Eehehehehe! Look ouuut!" and made the boat go faster; she swerved, narrowly avoiding ramming into a thick pine, and drove straight for the squid, who turned to them and gave a low grunt of surprise.

Link flinched and closed his eyes on impact; it didn't sound pretty at all. Koume was still giggling shrilly as the boat slowed a little and wove on; he did not open his eyes until the boat stopped and she barked, "Here's Deku Palace, are you getting off?"

Link nodded, jumping to his feet and hopping onto the dock, trying to avoid looking at the prow, which was now stained black. As soon as he was clear, Koume sped away, back to her shop no doubt.

Link looked up and saw, amid the trees, a wall a bit taller than he was, edged in green and red; there was a low doorway set in the wall right in front of him, and above it, red letters spelling "Deku Palace". To one side was a sign saying, "Deku Scrubs Only!"

As Link was contemplating this, he heard a soft sound; he looked down to see one of the monkeys, the boy one, staring up at him.

"Brother inside," he said. "Only Dekus allowed inside—brother is in big room with King!"

Link nodded, and the monkey withdrew, watching him. Link could tell that he was anxious—he would probably wait on the dock for Link or his brother to return. He gave the monkey a small smile, then pulled his Deku mask from his bag and slipped it on.

As a Deku, the low doorway was just his height; he scurried through, following the dock through the door and into a large open area, a bit like a garden, carpeted with lily pads that led right up to an enormous wall set with a large archway and guarded by two fierce-looking Deku Scrubs. Link tested one of the lily pads and was not surprised to find that they bore his weight well; he walked and hopped across them to meet the Scrubs, who must surely think him one of them, despite his different clothes.

"Good morning!" squeaked the one on the right. "Are you here to witness the punishment of that foolish monkey?"

Link nodded, his stomach churning unpleasantly.

"Ah, that's fine then," said the Scrub. "Though you're a bit early, the monkey won't be punished for another two days! Still, that's just fine. Straight ahead is the throne room—to the right and left are the gardens. There should be room for you if you ask someone!"

Link nodded again, and the Scrubs moved aside to let him through. He walked inside, looking around, impressed despite himself. The archway led to a wide grassy thoroughfare; there was a big door up ahead leading to the main palace, and smaller arches set into the walls on each side that probably led to the gardens the Scrub had mentioned. Link ignored everything but the big door; he ran to it and pushed it open, slipping quietly inside.

The throne room was enormous: a perfect circle with a blazing fire set right in the middle. Link lingered in the hallway, off of which half a dozen doors led, and watched warily—behind the fire was something like a stage, where two thrones, one large and one small, sat; before the largest stood an enormous Deku Scrub with a crown of multi-colored leaves and a scepter, stomping about and shouting angry things about how his daughter and the monkey had gone to the temple, but only the monkey had returned, and how he ate his daughter and must be punished as soon as the entire Scrub community could be mustered…..

Looking around, Link saw something like a cage set into the wall; he could just see the monkey through the smoke, tied to a pole, struggling and protesting violently, though Link couldn't hear the exact words. He also saw a door leading to the inside of the cage; he turned into the hallway again and opened all the doors on the same side as the monkey cage, looking for a hallway. At last, after finding a closet, a dining hall, and some stairs leading downward, he found the low, earthy passage, lit sporadically by torches; he crept inside, wary for others using the passage who might spot him and think him an intruder, but there was no one. He traveled along until he found a door leading into the throne room; he opened it a crack.

Yes—this was it! He could see the bars of the cage, as well as the fire and the crowd of servant scrubs standing before the King. They seemed distracted enough, so he slipped inside, hiding behind the pole; the monkey was shouting, with a surprisingly good vocabulary, "I tell you, I didn't do it! Won't you please listen to me? If you don't send troops to the temple, the princess will be in terrible danger! You can punish me all you want, but it won't make any—ook?" he added, freezing as he sniffed at the air. "Monkey? What's—?"

He stared down at Link, but he was too busy trying to draw his sword; he finally succeeded, but it was too heavy for him to lift properly. He swung it as best as he could, but it only chipped the post, falling far short of the ropes binding the monkey.

"No! No!" the monkey whispered. "Stop that, they'll see you—listen to me! There's not much time! You believe me about the princess, don't you?" Link nodded fervently. "Then you have to go to the temple and save her! There's a monster there that kidnapped her, it's what's poisoning the swamp! Listen, do you have an instrument? I'll teach you the song you'll need to get in—oh, is that all you have?" he said, disappointed, when he saw Link's ocarina. "Listen—as soon as you can, you have to go find some Deku Pipes, the princess sang but other than that I think they're all that works—but for now, memorize this song, okay?"

Link nodded, taking off his Deku mask—he couldn't play properly unless he was in his true form. The monkey didn't seem at all surprised by this transformation.

"This is called the Sonata of Awakening." And then he hummed a soft, pretty, stirring song, quite clearly; Link mimicked every note, a skill he had become quite adept at during his adventures in Hyrule, as quietly as he could. But just as the monkey had whispered, "Yes! That's it!" a deafening shout cut across him:

"Yes! Yes, you see?" howled the Deku King. "Only the royal family knows that song! This is proof that the monkey used the princess to get inside the temple!"

"No! No!" the monkey cried, but the Deku King would not listen; he was so furious that Link was afraid he would decide to punish the monkey right away. "Hurry!" the monkey shouted, not to the Scrubs but to Link; Link did not want to go, but he knew that he must, so he ran away, down the passageway and back to the door that led to the main hallway. He put on his Deku Mask, then peeked out; Scrubs were rushing into the throne room, and when Link tried to leave they pushed against him; seeking to escape, he darted into the first open door with a few other Scrubs.

This turned out to be the dining hall, filled with half a dozen Scrubs; but the Scrubs near him called to them, shouting the news about the monkey, and they all left in a rush, barely even noticing Link. He found himself alone in the room. His original plan was to wait for the crowds to die down, then take his leave—but then he spotted an abandoned set of what he knew instantly were Deku Pipes leaning against a wall; he dashed over to them and snatched them, giving them an experimental blow. The mouthpiece was quite large enough to accommodate his enlarged, rounded mouth; he found keys to one side that could make all sorts of notes. While it was relatively quiet, he experimented until he found the notes of the Sonata, and played it; when he had it down, more or less, he attacked the half-full plates left behind, which were filled with salad and fruits and things like that, then peeked out the door again. It was a bit clearer; he hurried out of the palace, zooming through the abandoned entrance, making his escape.

He had just paused on a lily pad, wondering how he would find the temple, when he saw a sign: "Secret Entrance to Temple " Smirking a little despite the seriousness of his predicament, he followed the arrow to a little hidden doorway; on the other side were more lily pads leading across the swamp. He followed them.

Before long, he found himself at a dead end, stopped by a sheer rock wall; to either side of him were thick waterfalls that made the lily pads shake beneath his feet, but the rock straight ahead was covered in a thick carpet of vines. This was something he had done many times before; he climbed the vines easily, despite his awkward Deku Body, and found himself on something like a mountain with a flattened top, mostly covered by deep, horrible-smelling, purplish water; in each compass direction, the water flowed off the edges and into the swamp, but there were solid spurs of rock along the corners.

In the center of the pool was a bit of rock like a mountain; the poisoned water seemed to gush from its peak and flow down it into the pool. In front of it was another spur of rock, perfectly round and flat, carved with a strange symbol; he hopped his way over to it, fighting the current with difficulty, and saw that it was a picture of a Deku, inlaid with red and green patterns, old and faded.

He looked around, but all he saw was the small mountain-like mount of stone. Was _that_ the temple? He took out the Deku Pipes, hesitating, unsure what exactly would happen when he played the song. But what choice did he have?

He put the pipes to his mouth and played the Sonata, stumbling a little over the notes. He let the final note echo, waiting.

He did not have to wait long—with a horrible shaking that knocked him backward and a deafening rumbling sound, the mountain-like rock in the center of the pool began to quake, then to rise; the water still gushed from its top as it rose steadily, and then from the pool emerged rounded stone walls, an archway, a set of stairs, all held in place by a tangle of what looked like tree roots….

The temple stopped rising, stopped shaking, and lay still, the dripping stairs resting at his feet.

He ascended them, nervously; the door was straight ahead, solid wood, and it and the stairs were protected from the flow of water by the archway protruding from the stone around it; still, the stairs were covered in pools of poisonous water, and he knew there would be more inside…if he fell into it….

Tatl emerged from his hat and flew very close beside him, almost perched on his shoulder like a pet bird. "We'll be okay," she whispered. "Maybe you should be human now? You'll need your sword…."

She was right; he took off his Deku mask, placing it safely in an easy-to-reach spot. Then he drew his sword, holding it tightly, feeling a bit braver with it in his hand.

He pushed open the thick door leading into the temple, hesitating beneath the archway, listening to the movement of the water. It was utterly dark inside; Tatl darted in, illuminating the blackness bit by bit, revealing nothing remotely resembling a temple: only a small puddle of poisonous water and a narrow hallway leading to a sharp right turn. Link leapt over the puddle, peering cautiously around the corner; to his surprise, he saw nothing ahead but stairs leading downward.

"Come on…let's go…."

Link edged down the stairs, which were quite dry, keeping his eyes on the steps that Tatl showed him. He expected the stairs to end after a flight or two, but they did not; they curved gently to the left, spiraling ever downward, until the pressure hurt his ears. To his surprise, the sound of moving water did not cease; curious, he pressed his ear to the wall, startled to hear a soft gurgling from within.

Tatl noticed; "I think the water comes from underground," she reasoned. "The source of the spring must be somewhere near here, and it pushes the water up out of the temple…they must have put the temple here to protect the source of the water…."

But it hadn't worked, Link thought—the Giant that lived here must be sleeping very deeply, to fail to protect his swamp…he wondered why they had fallen asleep in the first place. Were they that convinced of their world's safety? And how could he wake them up?

He traveled on and on, moving steadily downward, trembling slightly. A monster…and all he had was his sword, and a bit of magic…how could he beat it? Would he be strong enough, fast enough, to win?

And then, out of nowhere, there was light: a faint golden glow on the steps above.

Link froze; Tatl flew slowly around the corner, searching in his stead, since she could not be hurt by normal means. "It's okay," she called to him after a minute. "It's just a torch."

Link crept forward, giving his eyes time to adjust to the growing light: sure enough, there was a torch set into the wall—not unusual, not the first he had seen, but this one, unlike the others, was lit.

He shivered: they were close.

He moved very slowly down the stairs, now lit by torches at regular intervals, watching for the end….

He knew it was coming long before he saw it: the light from below was quite strong, creeping up the stairs toward him, beckoning him. He found that he wanted to move faster, wanted to dash down the stairs with his eyes closed, but though he quickened his pace he still moved cautiously, was still wary….

The stairs ended abruptly, opening into an enormous circular room with vines growing in patches along the walls, some of them singed from their close proximity to the torches that lit the entire room, throwing glistening reflections onto the surface of ankle-deep, poisoned water that seemed to be dripping down the walls from the ceiling….

And in the center of the room was the monster.


	8. Chapter Eight: The First Giant

Chapter Eight: The First Giant

The evil practically dripping from this creature made Link shudder; it was over twelve feet tall, all legs and arms, with a multicolored mask instead of a face, clothed in a tangle of feathers and leaves; its skin seemed to be made of wood, like a Scrub's, but he was unlike any creature that Link had ever seen before. He stood in the center of the room, facing Link, but looking up at the ceiling, at a single dark point from which water was slowly dripping, which seemed to glitter darkly as the monster chanted something that sounded like, "_Te yamoh, te yamoh, te yah—_"

And then the monster froze; its mask of a face fell sharply, with horrible, evil yellow eyes glaring down at Link, recognizing him….

It sprang high into the air; Link gasped and darted out of the way, droplets of poisoned water splashing onto him as he ran sideways, finally stumbling to a halt with his back to the wall—

The bow-legged creature seemed to laugh at him; then it raised its head and wailed, "Ul Odolwa! Ul Odolwa! Ul Odolwa!" And, as if he had called them, a swarm of tiny creatures appeared out of nowhere, emerging from the shelter of the walls, making their way toward Link, who slashed wildly at them with his sword and ran toward the monster with reckless desperation—

But the monster leapt over his head, making him flinch, landing with a splash behind him. Link swiveled around; the monster started to shout something else, and Link, terrified that he would summon more creatures to trip and bite at him, darted toward him again; this time, amazingly, the monster did not notice him in time to escape, and he was able to land a powerful swing at one of its legs….

The monster let out an ear-piercing shriek—and then it grabbed Link with hands like rough tree bark and flung him away. Link gasped in pain as he hit the wall, then screamed silently as he landed in the poisoned water, which turned his skin red and raw even as he stumbled to his feet; clutching his arm, certain that something somewhere had broken, if not several somethings, he heard the monster start to summon again and looked around for his sword—

But instead of his sword, he found something better—a torch that had fallen off the wall and into the water with him. He grabbed the bit of it protruding from the water, held it aloft, shook a few droplets from the end, then set it aflame with magic, thinking of the monster's dry, wooden shell—

He threw the torch just as the monster finished his summoning and turned toward Link, just as thousands of moths and insects began to swarm in the air, heading for Link—

The torch smacked into the monster's masked face; it screamed again, clutching wildly at itself as its whole body was consumed by flames, until he was nothing more than a blazing inferno, through which Link could just make out the mask—

And then he was nothing—he was ash—all that was left was the wooden mask, half-submerged in the poisoned water, glowing in an odd way, not like evil, but like magic.

Link didn't want to touch it; he didn't think he could move in any case. He wished that he could sit, or lay down, but there was only poison….

And then he heard a small, frightened squeak; it seemed to be coming from the solid wall to his right. Groaning inwardly, clutching his chest, he made his way along the wall, leaning heavily against it, hoping it was not another enemy….

But then he stumbled, the wall beneath his hands having dropped away; he drew back, then pushed his way cautiously through the tangle of vines to find a small hollow beyond the curtain, and inside it, a Deku girl with a flowing skirt and large headdress made of leaves, clutching a bottle….

"Oh!" she said, just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. "Are you—did you—did you kill that monster?"

Link nodded wearily, stretching out a hand to support himself against the wall, wincing….

"Oh dear—here, take this, this will help!" cried the girl, shoving her bottle into his chest. He gasped in pain, automatically taking the bottle, which glowed faintly pink….

Knowing what it was at once, he tore out the cork with all the strength he had left, setting the fairy free. It was a lesser fairy, capable of only the simplest speech, and only with other fairies—but it was a benevolent little thing, kind to those it believed was freeing it from imprisonment, and as soon as it was out of the bottle it circled him, touching the places where he was hurt, using its magic to heal him. He felt better almost instantly—no, not better, as good as he had ever been—and the fairy, its work done, glowed happily and drifted away.

Link stretched a little to make sure everything was okay, then turned back to the girl.

"There!" she said, pleased. "I'm the Deku Princess! Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Link gave her a small, respectful bow; she curtsied. Then she sniffed him; Link flinched slightly, unable to get used to all these people smelling him. "You know," she mused, "you smell a bit like monkey—tell me, did Mr. Monkey send you down here to save me?" Link nodded. "Good!" she said firmly. "It was horrible, I was so scared—that monster grabbed me just as we entered the temple and brought me down here, and the minute he dropped me I hid in here—I had that fairy before, I used it to heal myself from the water, but it was too scared to go out—but where is Mr. Monkey?" she demanded.

Link could say nothing—but his grim expression seemed to speak for him.

"But—but wait—please tell me that he got back all right! He did? Then—then—but Father _can't_ have blamed him, could he? He _DID? _Ohhh! That makes me so mad! He's so hasty, he never thinks anything through! Well, I'll give him a piece of my mind when I see him! Come on!"

She marched out of the little alcove, splashing determinedly through the dark water; Link followed at a safe distance, afraid of her wrath just as much as of the droplets of water she kicked up. But as he passed, he remembered the mask; he hesitated, then went over to it and made to pick it up.

The instant he touched it, though, he was consumed by blue light, warm, magic, insistent; when it cleared, he blinked, dazed, and looked around. Tatl flew out of his hat, circling him slowly, awed. He was standing in front of the temple again, he thought—but his surroundings were vague, dazzling, giving an impression of swirling green light; he had to look away.

Straight ahead was a waterfall—and, like one in a dream, he watched with no surprise at all as a face appeared in the midst of the clean, falling water: a face as long as he was tall, reddish, with odd features and long green hair—and then the entire creature emerged, and he saw that its face was also its body, and that it had very long, powerful-looking legs and arms. It was nothing like the monster, that had looked faintly Hylian—it was something else altogether, and he knew at once that it was good.

"The Giant," Tatl whispered.

Of course it was…it felt as if he had known all along. And he understood, suddenly, that the mask he still held in his hands had imprisoned it, bound it to the monster's body, kept him powerless, so he could do nothing to save his people…but now he was free, now he was awake and alert and ready to help….

The Giant threw back its head and began to sing.

Its voice was beautiful, low, rich, resonant; he sang a series of notes that made Link's heart swell, made him want to move, to run, to help; then it sang them again. And Link understood that it wanted him to learn them….

He put the mask down at his feet, pulling out his ocarina. He played the song perfectly—it was as if his heart had known it all along, and now it was eager to show him how to do it. The last note lingered in the misty air; he lowered his ocarina and saw the Giant giving him a strange, kind smile.

And then it spoke—again, it repeated itself several times—its voice was old, and slow, but Link closed his eyes and found that he could understand….

"Ca…a…ll…u…s…. Ca…a…all…us…s…."

"Call us?" Tatl repeated incredulously.

And then Link opened his eyes and found himself back in the temple.

The Deku Princess let out a cry of surprise; Link looked around, the surface of his deep calm rippled by alarm, and noticed, for the first time, that that horrible stench was gone…that the water around his boots was quite clear….

"The water! The water's clean again!" the Princess said happily. "That's great! You did it! What did you do? What's that mask?"

Link looked down and saw that he was holding the mask again; he put it away at once, feeling his pockets to check that his ocarina was still present. It was. He smiled faintly at the princess, shrugging.

"Well—well, never mind!" she said, still agitated, and turned away from him. "Let's—let's go—come on!"

He followed her up the stairs—she could move quite quickly despite her tiny legs, and kept up with him easily—but he was not paying attention to the endless steps: he was thinking of the Giants, and the song he had learned, and wondering if his instinct were true, if that song would really call them when he needed help the most….

Before he knew it, he could see daylight again; the princess shoved him aside and darted into the sunlight first, muttering angrily to herself as she marched down the stairs. "Come on!" she said irritably at Link; he hopped down the last few steps, standing beside her on the platform with the Deku design. To his amazement, despite her rush to return to the palace, she stopped, closed her eyes, and started to sing. She had a surprisingly rich voice for such a young girl, especially one who sounded so squeaky when she was upset; she trilled out a few odd notes, letting them ring in the quiet. There was a moment's pause, and then, with another deafening rumble, the temple began to sink again, and Link understood.

The princess did not wait for the water to calm; she started to hop across the water, tugging Link along with her. He stumbled and fell into the water—the princess had forgotten that he was not a Deku—but it tasted clean in his mouth, and he was a good swimmer; he moved through the water like a fish, following the princess to the far corner, onto the stone and down the vines. Once level with the swamp, she started to hop along the lilypads; Link waded behind her, for the water was only up to his chest, as quickly as he could, though not quickly enough for her.

"Please hurry!" she cried from the secret entrance to the palace; Link sighed and tried to move faster, though it was still a good while before he caught up with her. She darted off again; Link followed her as quickly as she could, managing to pull himself onto the dry land at the front of the palace just after her. He ran behind her as she pushed through the two guard Scrubs, who were so astounded that they let Link through without even noticing that he was human, and was at her heels as she shoved open the palace doors and dashed into the throne room.

Cries of amazement echoed through the throne room as they entered, but the princess had patience for none of it; she climbed onto the stage and stood with her hands on her hips before her father, who sank unsteadily onto his throne. "Ohhh," he gasped. "My princess…you are okay…."

The princess, shaking with fury, said in a voice that was held back only weakly from shouting, "F-f-foolish…F-f-father—"

The King, ignoring this, reached down to embrace her—but she wrenched away and started pummeling every inch of him that she could with her tiny fists, making him cower, alarmed, as she shouted, "How dare you imprison Mr. Monkey! Why didn't you listen to him? He was trying to help me, and if he hadn't sent this—this Hylian boy, who killed the monster and cleaned the water—then the monster might have eaten me! You release him at _once_, Father!"

"Ohhh, okay, I will," the King said quickly, and clapped his hands; a Scrub taller and slimmer than the rest, with impeccable posture and a red umbrella, hurried over to the cage, unlocked a small barred door, and untied the monkey. As soon as he was freed, the princess stopped hitting her father, who rubbed his stomach ruefully.

"You are right, princess," he said slowly, looking embarrassed. "I am too hasty, I need to think things through…this, more than anything, has made me realize that. I am sorry, dear one…are you all right?"

"Yes," said the princess stiffly. "Thanks to Mr. Monkey and—and his friend—Mr. Monkey!" she cried, running forward as the Monkey moved stiffly out of the cage and embracing him. "I was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine," said the monkey with more bravado than Link expected; he looked rather sick, and the ropes had left marks on the skin beneath his fur. "Just a bit hungry, really…."

The princess petted and gentled him, murmuring soothing words; the King was still rubbing his stomach as he watched her with a soft expression. Link was not quite sure where he fit in, but then the Scrub with the umbrella tapped his shoulder, offering him a package wrapped in soft cloth.

"This is for you—in thanks for your service," said the Scrub. Link pulled back a corner, delighted to find a bow and a full quiver underneath; he tried the bow right away, pleased with its weight and tension. The arrows, too, were satisfactory; he was happy to discover that, like his old arrows from Hyrule, he could set these arrows aflame with magic if he wished to.

The Scrub bowed to him. "Now," he said, "we will have a feast in celebration—you will join us, of course?" Link smiled and nodded—it couldn't hurt, could it? "Good," said the Scrub, pleased. "Then we will begin the preparations—we shall celebrate within the hour!"

He called this to all the Scrubs gathered around the princess, who cheered; they raised a palanquin from out of nowhere over their heads, with the princess and the monkey riding on top, and bore the two of them out of the throne room, with the king's much larger palanquin following behind. Perhaps they were too important to walk; in any case, Link followed as closely behind as he could as the procession moved out of the palace and into one of the gardens. He lurked in the shadow of a tree, watching as tables, benches, and enormous umbrellas were erected at top speed—and then, less than an hour later, a line of Scrubs came bearing food, setting the largest dishes in front of the king and princess, cluttering the table with all manner of delicious foods. And Link emerged from his hiding place then, and sat next to the monkey and the Scrub with the red umbrella, the king's butler, who drank quite a bit of cherry wine and, by evening, was telling Link all about his son, who had looked very much like Link's Deku form, who used to race with him, who he missed very much…it made Link uncomfortable, but the monkey's attention could not be torn from the princess, save when she spoke with the others, telling them again and again what had happened, how Link had defeated the monster so thoroughly that only a piece of it was left, how he had cleaned the water in an instant….

And then came the sort of thing Link never got used to, no matter how many times it happened: the Scrubs went from praising and thanking him to toasting him, then to singing songs in his honor, then to making grand promises that could not possibly be kept, the King even assuring him that he could be his royal advisor, help him stop making hasty decisions, or the princess's official protector…. Link was uncomfortable with all the attention and wished he could refuse it all, but he could not speak; he could not think of any way to escape, save one…. Without thinking it through, hoping it wouldn't hurt anyone, he grabbed a Deku Nut and flung it behind his head; it snapped open with a blinding flash, stunning everyone but him, for he had covered his eyes; they sat dazed, with unfocused eyes, blinking and slowly shaking their heads. Before they were in any state to notice, he was already gone, darting into the other garden, weaving through the shrubs and trees until he was certain that he was quite alone.

It was twilight; the torches around the garden were lit, but it was still light enough to see without them. He sat on the cool grass, taking his ocarina out and fingering the notes of the Oath to Order. "_Call us…._"

A dull rumble made him wince and look up: the moon had been coming steadily closer all this time, making a lot more noise in the past couple of hours, but no one but him had seemed to notice. Yes, it was falling…by dawn it would flatten this whole world….

He could not let dawn come. He could not bear the thought of the moon crushing this strange, yet beautiful world, just as convoluted and mysterious and wondrous as is own…. He could not stand imagining these Scrubs, who were so happy, so relieved to have their lives returned to normal, crushed beneath the moon's weight, or, if it were kept at bay, still suffering from evil magic….

He sighed. He knew that he would hate going through another three days—that he would find it very hard to go on if he knew what was happening in this part of the world, if he thought of the poisoned water, the frightened princess, the tied-up monkey…he knew he would worry about what would've happened if he'd been too late, and that even while he was searching for the other Giants, he would be thinking about the first one, still trapped. Or was it still trapped? He had the mask after all…maybe the Giant would be all right…maybe it would wait for him, listening patiently for his song….

Yes, it would be harder to start over than ever before…hard to turn his back on these people when he knew how to save him…hard to make them let go of their happiness now, revert to a time when it had not happened, and would not happen, for he would be busy elsewhere….

But he had to go. There were three Giants that he still had to find—and people with lives tainted by evil that had to be saved.

He touched his ocarina to his lips; Tatl brushed against his cheek, comforting him, as he closed his eyes and played the Song of Time.


	9. Chapter Nine: Mountains

Chapter Nine: Mountains

Whiteness…ticking clocks…falling….

He opened his eyes to find himself in Clock Town once more, surrounded by early-morning shoppers and workers, assailed by the noise of the place: chatting, walking, running, shifting, scraping, hammering, barking, the clunk of the enormous clock….

"Let's go to the mountains now," Tatl whispered in his ear, beneath his hat. "It's north of here."

This time he did not bother counting steps. He ran around the clock tower and into the northern part of town; he passed the hole in the wall where the Great Fairy lay and wondered if she were still in pieces, in pain, waiting for him to save her, though he could not, not this time….

Again, he was forced to show his sword to the guard at the gate, leaving him muttering resentfully as he ran outside; again, he crossed Termina field, looking at his map, though he did not need it—Snowhead Mountain reared high and proud before him, crowning an entire mountain range, though he saw from his map that he would only need to venture a short way to the temple, which was on the outskirts of the Goron village.

Gorons were a people that he knew quite well, and understood; it comforted him a little, to think of being surrounded by a familiar species, instead of the odd Deku Scrubs….

But he had barely even started up the slope of the mountain, barely risen above ground level, before his path was blocked by stalagmites and stalactites of pure, thick ice.

Tatl seemed troubled as she inspected them, looked past them, prodded them. "These weren't here a few days ago," she said doubtfully. "What's Skull Kid done _now_?"

Link made a questioning face; Tatl saw it and told him, "Well, of course it's Skull Kid doing all of this! Haven't you realized? Majora's Mask is making him do it, and giving him the power…."

This did not surprise Link, though he thought, personally, that Majora's Mask probably wasn't making Skull Kid do anything in particular. He hadn't been evil in Hyrule, but now…there was something pointlessly cruel about attacking him, cursing him, stealing his horse…and about attacking the Salesman, too, and taking the Mask….

He sighed, then took out his bow, nocked it, and fired an arrow at the biggest stalactite, which shook violently, broke off, and fell. He held his arm over his eyes as the stalactite, and the stalagmites beneath it, shattered; when he looked up, the way was clear, though slippery and littered with shards of ice.

"Clever!" said Tatl approvingly. Come on…."

They walked through the gap, across the snow, which was soon ankle-deep; Tatl fretted about this, telling Link that it was spring, and the mountains should not have much snow at all, and that it wasn't this bad even in the middle of winter, and that Gorons hated the cold and might be in big trouble, and why would Majora's Mask make Skull Kid do such awful things?

Seeing the look on Link's face at this last bit, she told him quietly, "We used to be friends, you know…me and Skull Kid and Tael. You see…we were on our own, and it was raining, but that didn't matter to us—but then we heard him, and found him shivering in a hollow log…he was sick, and we felt really bad for him, so we stayed with him. And we talked to him…he was really lonely, his friends didn't want to play with him anymore, he said, they'd gone away…this was way before the mask, though…. We used to go exploring all over Termina, the three of us, and he knew how to get to all these places, like Ikana Cliffs and the pirate's hideout in the bay…he was a lot of fun….

"I don't know why he attacked the Salesman, though," she murmured. "It was a horrible thing to do, he could have really hurt them, and we couldn't talk him out of it…. I know he was feeling lonely, and a little bitter, even though he had us—but once he got the mask, it was so much worse, he hated everyone in the world, and he started doing little, cruel things, like attacking you and cursing you…yeah, that's right, that was _after_ he got the mask, he wouldn't have hurt you before! He was kind of nice, most of the time…he just played a lot of tricks, is all…. But—but he—he changed. He's different—he's _evil_—not at all like he used to be—and he's not our friend anymore! Not after leaving me behind, and hurting Tael…I just…I hope we can save him from that mask, is all. And we'll have to, won't we? Because if we don't, it'll all happen again…."

Link knew that there was truth in her words, but he did not like that thought; he did not think it would be as easy as pulling the mask off of him, or even as simple as defeating the monster in the swamp. The Mask seemed to have a mind of its own, and its own frightening powers…surely it would not give up without a brutal fight. And he did not want Tatl to know that there was little chance of saving her friend, that the mask might kill him before letting him free….

"Link?" Tatl interrupted his thoughts, darting forward. "Link, we're here."

Startled, and pleased—he could feel the cold setting into his bones, far more difficult to withstand than the sticky humidity of the swamp—he ran forward, but when he emerged in the tiny little valley, he knew at once that it was not at all what he sought—not the temple, not even the Goron village. It was no more than a frozen stream ending in a frozen pool, with a cabin jutting out of vast piles of snow.

But Tatl wasn't interested in the cabin; she was zooming around a wooden sign half-buried by the bridge leading over the stream. Link brushed the snow from the sign, shivering at the cold touch against his bare hands, and squinted at the faded carving. It said, "Smith , Goron Village ↑, Snowhead Temple "

Well, that was easy. He turned left and found the right path, wading uphill through the snow.

But he knew almost at once that it was _not_ going to be so easy…as he moved forward, the wind increased to a violent speed, and he heard a dull, far-off howl up ahead…it started to snow in earnest, a blizzard, blinding him….

And then suddenly he was out in the open.

He could see, vaguely, the peak of the mountain above him; he could also see that it was surrounded by nothing but emptiness, and the wind rushing past it made that awful howling that he had heard before. But there was a stronger wind that seemed to be pushing right at him, forcing him downward and backward, away from the peak…squinting upward, he could see nothing but flurries of snow, and the silhouette of something quite large.

"Biggoron," muttered a deep, rough voice. "Cursed. He blew me off the mountain…."

Link swiveled around, hand on the hilt of his sword—at first, though, he saw nothing, though the hairs on the back of his neck prickled, telling him that his eyes were deceiving him. Tatl shivered, hiding behind him; he grit his teeth and approached a step, peering through the blizzard….

"What? You can hear me?" cried the voice again, sounding astonished—and Link, finding the exact spot from whence the voice came, thought that he saw something. A shimmer, like a heat haze, though of course that was not so….

He nodded. The voice made a small, surprised sound, then asked, "Can you _see_ me?"

Link peered at it, then nodded slowly—he could not see whatever it was directly, but it distorted the light in an odd way against the snow on the ground, not as dark as a shadow, but enough….

"Then please—follow me!" it said, and moved away, back down the path. Link glanced over his shoulder at the temple, frowning, then pursued the strange phenomenon, running to keep up with it as it drifted across the snow, back into the valley, then northward…. He followed it past the frozen pool, up a steep slope, then onto a plateau, where the snow-blurred outlines of dozens of houses told Link that he'd found the Goron village…. The shadow turned westward, leading him uphill yet again, and then into a passage mined into the rock, leading into the mountain…. The air grew warmer; Link could not understand how that could be until, very suddenly, his boot sank into shallow water.

Thinking of the poisoned swamp, he drew back; however, this water, though it steamed gently, smelled clean, and when he touched it, it felt pleasantly warm on his fingers. The apparition was waiting for him, so he waded carefully through the water, which never rose higher than the tops of his boots.

Before long, he felt the passage widen; he paused, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the eerie green phosphorescence emanated from a few stalactites and patches of rock all around the walls. The room was not big; it was flooded with the shallow water, glowing oddly in the strange light. But for a lot of fallen rocks littered about, it was empty, save for a large tombstone set right in the middle.

The apparition hovered in front of the grave; in the odd light, it was more visible than ever before, and Link could see that it had the form of a Goron man, burlier than usual, with a wide, blunt face and eyes that burned with grief.

"A grave of honor," said the Goron sadly. "Beneath this headstone lies the tomb of my family, with the blood of heroes coursing through their veins when they lived. But I do not deserve to be counted among them…I failed. Snowhead was cursed, deep winter was upon us, and we were going to die if it continued…so I tried to go up the mountain and speak to the guardian…but it was unapproachable. Biggoron was under a curse, he blew me off the mountain…and I fell to my death." The ghost lifted his hands to his head, groaning in anguish. "And now who is left to save my people? Who can end this curse? Oh! My sorrows…please, stranger…you are the only one who can see and hear me…please heal my sorrows."

Tatl nudged him, but Link already knew what to do; he nodded consolingly to the ghost, pulling out his ocarina. Very slowly, very softly, he played the Song of Healing. The notes rose and fell, reaching such a peak that Link felt he might cry…and the ghost looked like he would have too, if he could. He seemed to crumple, hiding his face…and then he relaxed, sighed in relief, whispered, "Thank you…please save them…" and faded out of existence.


	10. Chapter Ten: Darmani

Chapter Ten: Darmani

There was a soft clattering sound; Link looked down at his feet and saw, with considerable surprise, a circular mask resting at his feet, floating on top of the water, made to look like the ghost's face.

"Ohhh," murmured Tatl. "Remember what the Salesman said? The song heals people's sorrows and turns them into _masks_…."

Link hesitated before picking the mask up; he did not know what powers it possessed. Would he merely share the ghost's sorrows? Or would something else happen?

"He wants you to save the Gorons," Tatl pointed out. "Maybe this'll help. It's okay, don't worry…."

Link nodded, took a deep breath. Then he lifted the mask and pressed it to his face.

The change was instantaneous; he shrieked silently as he felt himself stretching, pulling, growing, changing…. He was assailed with a rush of memories, too, not at all his own, of a Goron named Darmani born into a great family, destined for great things, who everybody loved, who wanted nothing more than to help his people and hear their cries of gratitude and admiration…he saw Darmani's death through his own eyes, a frightening blow from a gust of wind that knocked him off his feet, the plummet downward, hundreds of feet…he never felt the impact, not really, but he was acutely aware in that instant that he was dead, that he had failed, that there was no one to aid his family, his friends, his fellows….

And then he looked down, and it was not his own reflection that looked back at him: it was the ghost's. But he was alive…he had new, powerful hands, a terrifyingly strong new body, covered in yellowish skin and calloused brown nubs like bits of rock embedded in his flesh, on his knuckles, elbows, knees, and all over his back and face…. He still had his hat, which looked rather comical on his enormous new head, and was again clothed in only a green kilt and his boots, which were now huge enough to squish his old body into pulp.

"Woooow," Tatl said, awed. "You're a _Goron_…well, you'll definitely be strong enough to save them now!"

And Link couldn't help but agree with her, though he knew it would not be easy, especially if Darmani had failed. But as Link knew quite well, sometimes saving the world required a lot of trial and error, at the hero's expense…the trick was to let the errors be committed by others, specifically those in the past, so that he knew what not to do—or at least, if he had to err, to err on the side that would not kill or maim him. That way he was able to try again next time, after a careful evaluation of what had went wrong….

He flexed his new body experimentally, thinking of all he knew about the Gorons. They could withstand very high temperatures, could even walk through lava without injuring themselves, but they could not bear the cold, and froze to death far more easily than Hylians. They were very blunt, practical, and concerned more with functionality than looks; they could curl up in a ball and roll when they needed to move faster than their bulk would normally allow, and if they went fast enough they could do considerable damage. They ate rocks; their teeth were made of some substance rather like diamond, the front ones sharp enough to cut through stone, the back ones strong enough to crush rock into gravel. In fact, Link had seen Gorons refine uncut gems with the power of their teeth alone.

He couldn't really imagine eating rocks—but he _was_ rather hungry…when had he last eaten? At the Deku feast, at Anju's inn, or long before…?

He made his way back out of the tomb, testing his new Goron body; he could punch solid rock hard enough to break it, roll slowly or at an alarming speed, slam into the walls or ground while curled up…. His new powers were delightful, if a bit terrifying, for he was not accustomed to such a powerful body….

In a matter of seconds he found himself in weak winter daylight once more; it was snowing lightly over the Goron village, which was very still and quiet for a large village in the middle of the afternoon. Link shivered a bit despite his thick skin; he was even more susceptible to the cold as a Goron, though his lack of a shirt probably wasn't helping. He drifted through the village, with streets definitely made more for rolling than for walking, noting the signs in front of the shops: Powder Kegs, which was obscured by a mound of ice; Goron Market, advertising premium rock sirloin for sale(and it unnerved him how wonderful that sounded to him), whose door he could not figure out; Goron Shrine….

This struck a chord in his memory, or rather Darmani's—he could not be sure, but he thought it might be Darmani's home…. He thought about it for a moment; he knew, somehow, that Darmani was of the Goron's ruling family, the one with the blood of heroes, though he himself did not rule…. He studied the door, but it did not have a handle, and could not be pushed inward….

Suddenly a low rumble shattered the silence; Link tensed, alarmed, then jumped back and swung wildly as a snowball almost as big as he was came crashing down the hill toward him—

The punch sent the snowball flying; it landed a few feet away, breaking into several pieces before pulverizing completely, and he was startled to see a Goron pull himself from the wreckage, standing and shaking himself free of snow.

"Ohh, sorry," murmured the Goron, dusting off his scarf—other than that he wore no clothes, but then Gorons rarely ever did. He was a lot smaller than Link, though by no means puny in his own right; before, Link hadn't really realized just how impressive a specimen Darmani had been in life, but now it was clear: his arm was about as big around as this person's entire chest. "It's my turn to guard the door, but it was so cold, so I went for a roll to warm up…only problem is the snow stuck to me and I couldn't see…are you—?"

The Goron froze, staring up at Link's face with his mouth open. Goron faces were not too expressive, especially with emotions other than anger and surliness and ferocity, so Link hoped he did not look too puzzled or scared, even though he was both of these things.

"Darmani? Is that really you?" the Goron said quietly, his eyes wide. Link hesitated, then nodded—he must look exactly like Darmani, albeit a bit oddly clothed. He wished he'd thought this through beforehand. "Ohhh!" cried the Goron, beaming and raising his hands in the air. "You're alive! We thought, when you didn't come back, and Snowhead was still—but you're all right! That's great news! Shall I let you into the Shrine? Your nephew's been crying for hours and hours, we can't find the Elder anywhere, and no one knew where _you_ were—here, let me open it—"

And without waiting for Link's response, he curled up into a ball, leapt into the air, and slammed into the ground. The thick stone door to the Shrine literally fell down, sinking into a slot in the stone floor; at the same time, a hidden lever popped out of its niche, pointing toward the ground.

"Hurry up and get inside," advised the Goron, grabbing the lever and shivering at the cold touch of the metal. "I'll close it after you, I don't want to let the cold air in…wish I could go in with you…wow, Darmani's back, this means we can still—"

But then the door was yanked back into place by two thick chains on either side, the loud rattling cutting the Goron off completely. Link was left puzzled in the dark hallway, feeling uncomfortable, wondering what exactly the Goron and his fellows would want from him.

He journeyed down the dim passageway, which sloped downhill a little; the longer he walked, the warmer the air became, though there was also an increase in the volume of what sounded like a child's crying, echoing through a big room up ahead….

At last, just as the heat reached a point that would have been unbearable to him in his true form, but which was quite comfortable for Darmani's thick bulk, he emerged into an enormous room with something like a very wide ramp winding up the walls, opening to several rooms scattered here and there. There was also one leading downward to another one of those thick stone doors. The floor was bare stone save for a thick rug; a chandelier of sorts adorned the ceiling, but instead of thousands of candles it bore six giant earthenware pots stuffed with burning tinder, which stained the ceiling with smoke. The crying was quite loud; he couldn't figure out exactly where it was coming from, as the room reverberated with so many echoes.

There were Gorons standing around all over the place, some wearing earmuffs and scarfs, most of them cringing and covering their ears. As he passed them, rolling slowly up the ramp, they all seemed to recognize him; they cried Darmani's name, asked him questions, exclaimed joyful-sounding things, but time was ticking away, and he still didn't know how he would get to Snowhead, or what he would face there….

The noise grew louder and louder until finally he reached the top of the Shrine; he had instinctively felt that this was the right place, perhaps due to Darmani's memories' influence, and sure enough, when he peeked into the first doorway, he saw a toddler on a tiny truckle bed wailing and sobbing and thrashing his tiny little limbs, with a mass of adults surrounding him, trying to comfort him. The child looked a bit like an egg, with disproportionately skinny arms and legs, clutching a pacifier in one grubby fist.

Link approached cautiously—would the child know who he was, or who he was not? The adults looked up at him and parted, asking him questions that he ignored; the child, however, looked up at him and reached for him, still sniffling pathetically.

"Darmi," he wailed, "Darmi, where's Daddy? Daddy promised to sing me to sleep…he _promised_, Darmi…."

Link hesitated, lifting the child as delicately as he could, unsure just how fragile he was—but the child settled in his arms quite naturally, his crying quieter, but still distressed. "Darmi, you'll find Daddy, won't you?" he asked, looking up at Link with big eyes. "You will, right? You gotta know where he is, he went looking for you on the big mountain! Please say you'll find him, Darmi…."

Link nodded reassuringly, giving the child an awkward hug, not entirely sure what else to do. It felt quite strange, especially since he was so big, and the child so small…. It felt even stranger when he realized that in his true form, he would be only a little taller than this toddler, and quite a bit skinnier.

"Yay!" cried the child, cheering up at once. "Let's go, Darmi, I'll come with you! Come on!"

But Link shook his head—it was too cold for a baby out there—and, when the toddler protested, set him firmly down on his bed.

"But—but Darmi—I wanna—"

Link didn't wait to hear the rest; he was impatient, and worried, and scared…if the Elder had gone to Snowhead, he, too, might have….

He rolled down the ramp at top speed, crashing through the hallway, though he did not know what to do once he was outside. He paused only when Tatl flew out of his hat and nudged him. "Link," she said sternly, "we don't have time for this, you know we—"

But he shook his head violently, not letting her finish—he thought of the poor monkey, tied up even now, and Koume hurt in the woods, and the princess in the grip of a monster, and Anju writing a reply to Kafei that might never reach him, and knew that he could not let anyone get hurt or die if he could help it, even if it slowed him down…. He had room for error, he could go back in time if he needed to, but these people could not.

Tatl sighed. "Fine…we'll find the kid's daddy…look, let's think about this: if he went looking for Darmani at Snowpeak a few hours ago and didn't come back, he either got stopped along the way or fell off the mountain…since we hope he didn't fall, let's trace the path from here to Snowhead and see if we can find him along the way. Okay?"

It was a good plan—Tatl was a very down-to-earth, practical fairy, after all—so Link decided to use it; he spent a moment, once outside, looking at his map and orienting himself in the right direction, and then he set off at a measured pace, scanning the snow and the trees for a person, or part of a person, or something other than monsters, anyway…. There were all kinds of mountain creatures—normal wolves, cursed wolves with blackness dripping from between their fangs, a few foxes, a wild dog or two, and lots of demonic spiders. He ignored all of them, even the cursed ones, save the ones that attacked him; these he broke into pieces with his powerful fists, or pushed off a ledge, or threw aside.

And then he found a small, frozen lake; he moved across the surface with great care, remembering that Gorons could not swim….

"Link!" Tatl cried. "Link! Come here!"

He looked around, dashing over to the place where she was hovering and glowing bright blue: it was a thick snowdrift, but there was a bit of brown poking out…. Link hurried to clear away the snow from the old Goron, his skin quite pale and sickly-looking, who seemed to be unconscious, parts of his body coated in ice….

"Link, do something!" Tatl wailed, alarmed, despite her earlier coldness toward the man's plight. "He'll freeze to death—"

Warmth—he needed somewhere warm—he could bring the Goron back to the Shrine—or take a shortcut through the mountains to Darmani's grave, flooded with hot spring water, which in Hyrule had healing properties….

Without a second thought he scooped the Goron up in his powerful arms, starting to run as fast as he could on his thick, clumsy legs, his big feet sinking in the snow as he moved northeast, uphill, toward the hot spring; as he ran, he glanced down occasionally at the old Goron's face, wondering why he looked so familiar…and then it came to him: Darmani knew this man well—it was his brother. Much older, obviously, but all the same….

At last he found the entrance to the spring; he hurtled through the passageway, sighing with relief when he began to splash through water, dashing all the way to Darmani's grave where it was deepest before lowering the old man gently into the water.

The effect was instantaneous: the man groaned and rolled over as the ice all over him melted, sneezing and sniffling as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking around.

"Ohhhh!" he murmured. "Oh no—I'm late! My son's waiting—I have to—"

And without another word he stood up on his shaky old legs and limped forward, obviously in such a great hurry that he did not even notice his brother. He stumbled; Link quickly grabbed him and held him upright, crouching so that the Goron could see him.

"Oh!" gasped the Goron. "Darmani! You're all right! I was just looking for you—but I fell asleep—Darmani—you have to find my son—he can't sleep without his lullaby—tell him I'll be there soon, and play his song—Don't you remember it?" he added, frowning, as Link shrugged helplessly. "You're not so young after all if you can't remember mother's lullaby…here, I'll…here…."

He reached for the pack over his shoulders with fumbling fingers; Link helped him take the pack off, carrying him gently to the nearest patch of dry ground so he could set the pack down and take five drums, of all sizes, out of it and attach them to each other with shaking hands. Link looked at the drums with fascination: they were meant to be worn around the neck and played while standing. He was surprised that the old man had managed to carry them this far; they were heavy even with Darmani's considerable strength.

"You can—can borrow my drums—play this song for him—this song—"

And he tapped out a soft, shaky melody on the drums, a song that made Link's eyelids grow heavy, made him so tired that he had to sit down, and even made the Elder's head nod sleepily….

"Link! LINK! Wake up!" Tatl ordered him, bouncing sharply against his head; he shook himself and looked around, dazed, unsure what had—

"Link—the Elder!"

And Link jumped to his feet, crying out in his hoarse, rough Goron voice, as he saw the Elder crumpled on the ground beside the drums, eyes closed….

Tatl flew up to him, nudging his face; "Link, it's okay!" she said hastily, sounding relieved. "He's not—he just fell asleep. I think it was the song. Hey…wait…a song that—? Link! Wait up!"

But he could not; he grabbed the drums and slung them over one shoulder, then scooped up the Elder once more and ran out of the mountain, down into the village, worried about the old man…. Someone saw him coming, perhaps the guard of the Shrine's door, which opened as he approached it; he hurtled through, into the light and warmth….

There was a general outcry as he came in; Gorons surrounded him, asking questions he did not bother to listen to, but then one of them took the Elder from him; he waited to see that the man was in safe hands, then rolled up the stairs, following the sounds of the child's crying, which had probably not ceased since he had left.

When he looked down below from the top floor, he saw that someone had wrapped the Elder in a blanket; he thought he saw the old Goron move a little. He breathed a sigh of relief, then lifted the drums off his back and went into the child's room.

"Ah! Darmi!" said the toddler, clapping his hands. "Where's Daddy? Did you find Daddy?"

Link nodded, showing the child the drums; the child hugged his knees at the end of his bed, staring at him with fascination.

"Daddy's drums! Will you play my song, Darmi? Daddy always plays it for me so I can go to sleep…."

Link nodded again, reassuringly, as he slung the drums around his neck, adjusting them until they lay just right beneath his big hands. He would not have been able to play the ocarina as a Goron anyway…his fingers were big enough to block all the holes at once….

He closed his eyes, trying to remember the song. Remembering the notes were easy enough, but the drums were new to him…he watched the Elder play the song once more in his mind, then thought of the way he'd played it, but reversed, now that he was facing the drums. He tapped out the melody very quietly, then played it again, a little louder, once he'd gotten it right….

And then he looked up—and to his surprise, not only was the child fast asleep, but the adults that had surrounded him had all curled up in tight balls on the rug and were snoring peacefully…. Fascinated, a bit confused, he made his way back down the ramp and to the bottom of the main room, where everyone surrounding the Elder was sleeping…. He nudged a few of them until they finally stirred from the deep sleep, wondering why he hadn't felt anything at all this time. Maybe because he was playing the song?

"Link," Tatl hissed in his ear, hiding beneath his hat. "Link, let's go!"

He frowned blankly; he did not know where she meant.

"Link, come on—we've gotta go to Snowhead now—you have a song that'll make that big Goron fall asleep! That'll help you get up there!"

She was right—he felt thrilled; they had found a way—

He curled up into a ball and rolled out of the Shrine as fast as he possibly could.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Snowhead

Chapter Eleven: Snowhead

Snowhead Peak was the same as it had been hours ago; Link pushed on until he had gone as far as he could, crouching low to fight the fierce wind. Shivering violently, he took his drums out and played, as loudly as he could, the lullaby that put Gorons to sleep….

The wind stopped almost before the song was over.

Link looked up; the blizzard cleared, and for a moment the snow fell straight down, thickly, but placidly…. And through it he could see the outline of the gigantic Goron, who was nodding wearily, making soft, contented, sleepy sounds that echoed throughout the mountains….

And then—Link couldn't believe it had actually worked—the Goron curled up into a ball with a sigh that nearly knocked him off his feet. He started to snore….

And then he started to slip sideways….

Link tried to cry out, to warn him, but he couldn't, and the Goron, still fast asleep, fell…. Link winced at the resounding crash he made as he landed in the valley below, the one opposite from the Goron village…. He gasped in horror, but then he heard, very faintly, a deep, rumbling snore that shook snow and rocks loose all around the curled-up Goron, who still appeared to be breathing….

"It wasn't high enough to hurt him," Tatl soothed him, though she too seemed a bit shaken. "It would be like you falling down a few stairs. He's all right."

Link nodded, though he still felt terrible about doing it. Still, it could not be undone, and now the way was clear….

He hurried up the mountain, clambering with difficulty onto the plateau where Biggoron had sat. The snow here was melted; the brown earth was treacherously frozen. There was an enormous door set into the mountainside straight ahead….

Without thinking about it, without letting himself be afraid, Link slammed into the ground as hard as he could, opening the door, and rushed inside. He could do this…he could do this….

He was not surprised to see, after a long upward-sloping stone hallway, that there was nothing inside but a very tall room lined by a spiraling ramp…it was just like the swamp temple, only the ramp led upward instead of downward. He thought this place might be open to the air a little bit, even if all he could see overhead was a ceiling of solid ice; there was snow everywhere, thick tufts of it, and icicles hung off the walls and the ramp….

Link curled up again and rolled steadily upward; it was treacherous going, especially since it was hard to see where he was rolling exactly, but if he kept moving he would not slip, and if he went slowly it did not tire him as much…. There were a few flat places, where he stopped gratefully to rest, but mostly it was a hard, treacherous, arduous journey….

He was startled, and a bit alarmed, when, after nearly half an hour of rolling, he crashed into a thick door; he stood up, rubbing the back of his head, and stared blankly at the door, which was twice as high as he was tall. Very grand…ostentatious, even…. He swallowed, wondering what kind of monster lay within.

Then he slammed into the ground; the doors drifted shakily inward.

To his surprise, the room within was quite warm, almost hot, and free of snow and ice except in the corners of the ceiling; it seemed to be an earthen passageway big enough for even Biggoron to walk comfortably, dotted with the Goron's special bomb flowers, with extremely volatile fruit; it curved away to either side of him, and he wondered if it was in the shape of a large ring, circling the chamber with the ramp.

His nerves on edge, he slipped off the Goron mask, tiptoeing forward in his original body…he was a lot faster as a Hylian, and not so noisy…. He was left-handed, so he decided to move leftward first, exploring the passageway. He could see for several hundred feet before the curving wall blocked his view…yes, it was an enormous circle…but where was….

He saw something; he flinched and ducked behind the wall, only peering cautiously around it when he heard no sound at all.

He had wondered if there was no monster after all—but there was, there surely was…. A bit of the ceiling had fallen in, open to the pale grey sky, and the monster, a giant red animal sort of like a ram or an ox, was shrouded in snow, encased in ice….

He approached it carefully, wondering if it would see him and awaken. But though it was frozen in midstep, head lowered riotously, it did not seem aware of its surroundings…the ice around it was very thick….

He would have laughed, if he could, though it wasn't funny. He would have to save his enemy before he defeated it….

Well, so be it.

He backed away, until he was almost hidden from view, then nocked an arrow, setting it alight with magic; he took careful aim, then fired. The arrow sailed straight and true in a perfect arch, burying itself in the ice between the creature's shoulders, and the magic flames melted the ice with a hiss of steam and loud dripping sounds, freeing the beast in seconds….

The beast tossed its head, revived; it looked around, then seemed to sense Link, who was out of sight, and charged at him without preamble. Link winced and dove out of the way; the beast's hooves missed him by only a few feet, shaking the ground beneath him, loosing chunks of rock from the ground and walls and ceiling. Link dodged these, running after the beast, though he knew that it would lap him…he needed a plan….

"Link!" Tatl cried, and he saw her out of the edge of his vision, floating beside a bomb flower, glowing an urgent green…yes, that was it, that would do….

He ran forward until he was a good distance from the bomb flower, then stopped, turned around, crouched, and drew his bow. His hands were shaking, half from the vibrations of the charging beast and half from pure terror, as he nocked an arrow and set it alight, pointing it not at the beast that came crashing around the corner seconds later, but at the little dark fruit, looking so innocent with its tiny pink flowers….

The beast lowered its head, speeding up, drawing level with the bomb flower.

Link fired.

The explosion, though he closed his eyes, blew out his eardrums, knocking him backwards; he scrambled to his hands and knees, watching the beast, blinded, roar and swerve and crash into the wall, its legs collapsing as it lay on its heaving side—

Link got up and ran—never mind that he was bruised all over, never mind that without his ears intact his balance was atrocious, never mind that as he put on the Goron Mask he stumbled over his rapidly lengthening and thickening arms and legs…. He skidded to a clumsy halt in front of the beast's enormous head; it glared at him and roared, but the sound was weak and tinny to his ears, and he ignored it—he punched the side of the creature's head as hard as he could, but the impact sent hot, jarring pain up his arm, and when he looked at his hand he saw that it was leaking blood—the creature's skin was too tough, invulnerable—it was struggling to rise to its feet, but he remembered the monster from the swamp temple and clutched his big fists together, raising them high overhead, smashing them down the mask—

The mask cracked into three pieces; the beast let out a deafening cry, half howl and half shriek, and staggered to its feet, running right past Link, swaying wildly, unable to see where it was going….

He followed it, rolling at top speed, and watched in amazement as it skidded on the snow and ice beneath the giant hole in the ceiling, could not stop, crashed headfirst into the wall, and collapsed.


	12. Chapter Twelve: The Second Giant

Chapter Twelve: The Second Giant

Link stopped a good bowshot away from the beast, tense, waiting, but the monster did not move again. Instead, it seemed to melt away, dissipating into thin air, until all that remained….

He took off his Goron mask and ran across the final stretch, snatching the mask from the ground, half-afraid that it would melt too, and the monster would re-form and attack once more…. But the mask was solid in his hands, unbroken and undamaged, rather ugly, stained black and yellow and red, with curving horns and a sharp snout….

He gasped as the blue light rose up from nowhere, surrounding him in an instant; he had forgotten what this had all been about, honestly…but now….

He closed his eyes against the glare; when he opened them again, he was in his Hylian form, clutching the ugly mask, standing on top of something quite high, like a mountain, and he saw other mountain peaks surrounding him…it was all quite distant and vague, though, all of it drowned in a bluish haze…. And then, from the mists, a familiar-looking creature emerged, silently acknowledged him, and Link felt its gratitude, its joy….

And then it started to back away.

"Wait!" Tatl cried—she was not affected by the mists that made Link so calm and peaceful, so accepting, so complacent—"Wait! Don't go yet! Please—What are all of you?"

The Giant paused, its mouth opening, moving very slowly. It said:

"Gu…ua…a…a…ar…rd…di…i…ia…a…a…an…s…."

"Guardians?" Tatl repeated, bemused. "No—wait!"

But the Giant was gone.

The blue light surrounded them again….

Link opened his eyes and found himself, not in the room where the beast had been, but all the way at the bottom of the mountain, in the valley where the smith's cabin lay…. He watched in fascination as, before his eyes, the air grew steadily warmer, the ice and snow melted, the stream began to flow once more, and grass and flowers sprang up from the bare, brown soil, every tree laden with bright green buds that unfurled luxuriously, as if stretching after a long nap….

In seconds, where once there had been deepest winter, there was now vibrant spring.

Link breathed in the fresh air, which smelled like rich earth and rain, and sighed, collapsing shakily on the plush grass. He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of the new grass, resting for a few minutes, worn out from his ordeal, even though he could not sleep…. Tatl was worried at first, but then she understood, and decided to perch at the end of a blade of grass like a butterfly, slowly fanning her wings, as relieved and relaxed as he was.

After a long time, Tatl's wings sprang up, and Link's head turned toward a distant sound…. "Gorons," Tatl guessed, "but I don't…I don't think they're in trouble…."

No, of course they weren't…they were celebrating. Link closed his eyes again, smiling faintly. And they should…they'd be happy now, at least until…until the….

"Link," said Tatl gently, and he sighed heavily, pushing himself reluctantly to his feet; she did not need to say it, she was right, the moon would fall in less than forty-eight hours, and then these people would have nothing at all to celebrate…there would be none of them left….

He did not know where to go next; he thought, maybe, of going to the ocean, seeing what needed to be done…. But before he could take a single step a flood of Gorons poured into the valley, rolling joyfully about, reveling in the spring…and they were heading for Snowhead, calling Darmani's name….

"Don't let them get that far, it's still not safe," Tatl said urgently, and Link nodded and slipped on the Goron mask once more, finding it odd how familiar he was in this body now, after only a few hours of wearing it. He rolled forward, overtaking most of the Gorons, stopping when he was at the front of the party—

"Ohhh!" they cried, halting in their tracks. "Darmani! There you are!"

"You did it!" giggled Darmani's little nephew, who had been rolling along beside his father, who looked a bit shaky but otherwise just fine. "I knew you could do it, Darmi!"

"You've saved us!" agreed the Elder, taking his hand and shaking it hard. "You're our hero, Darmani!"

Cries of agreement echoed through the valley as the Gorons added in their own praise and thanks; Link felt awkward and did not know what to do, but no one seemed to care that he could not talk, or that he was uncomfortable with their attentions; they started back toward the village, asking Darmani how he'd done it, if he'd sit in the place of honor for the feast, if he'd stay for the races they were holding the very next day…. They did not care that he didn't answer, didn't seem to need an answer…. He followed them shyly through the village and into the Shrine, where they sat him at the head of an enormous table beside the Elder and his son and brought out plates and plates of food, strange food that he did not recognize, but, in his current body, smelled delicious….

Then the table was full; the Gorons, almost a hundred of them, crowded all around it, tearing into the food, and it was like the Deku's celebration all over again—Link was beleaguered with questions and requests, praised, admired, toasted, promised medals and honors and holidays in his name, even proposed to by several Goron ladies…. He did not know what to do, but then it occurred to him, finally, that this was not for him, but for Darmani, who had wanted this so badly when he lived, who was living through Link now…. he decided to sit back and try to enjoy it, for Darmani's sake, and forget, for a little while, who he really was.

After a long time, the Gorons grew full and sleepy and tipsy enough to gossip amongst themselves; this was something that Link had missed out on with the Dekus, as he had left too early, and something that he fully enjoyed. Not for the gossip itself, usually, for he was never involved in, or concerned with, the day-to-day drama of the towns and villages he passed through, but for a taste of what life in that place was like, a glimpse into the mentalities of the people, and, sometimes, a useful bit of information….

He listened to snatches of this conversation, snatches of that one…. The Elder's son was asleep under the table, snoring loudly, but Link tried to block him out as best as he could. After awhile, he started to listen to the Elder's conversations only; the Elder had not drank anything, and he talked about serious matters, though he remained quite cheerful all the same.

"—high demand for Powder Kegs in Clock Town, now we can deliver more—" he was saying happily.

"Clock Town? Really? But why would they need Powder Kegs there? A massive explosion like that—"

"Well, they are building something for the festival, aren't they?"

"Or are they going to launch it at the moon?"

"No, no, that would never work, the pieces would kill us all…."

"That's not it anyway—they want the Powder Kegs to clear a few blocked roads. Our road was blocked until just a little while ago, though we did not know it—and apparently other places are the same, Ikana Canyon is almost completely inaccessible, and Great Bay is littered with debris, and the ranch—"

At this Link sat bolt upright; Tatl stirred anxiously in his hat.

"—the ranch is blocked by an enormous boulder—"

"But wasn't Kormori supposed to sell Powder Kegs to the townspeople weeks ago?"

"I received a letter from him before the road was blocked—he lost all but three, and he's trying to sell them for a ridiculous price to anyone that doesn't have a license—enough to pay for all of them, I think—"

"That fool…of course no one will buy it…."

"They can't, although I think the Mayor is trying to raise some money and haggle him down—"

Link waited for someone to mention the license again, but no one did; Tatl nudged him after a minute, whispering in his ear, "Link—that store—remember?"

He nodded, rising to his feet; a few people noticed and asked him where he was going, but most of them left him alone. He tried to act natural, slipping into a nearby room, waiting for them to forget about him before he made his escape. As he waited, his eyes fell on a piece of paper.

"Link, don't be an idiot," Tatl said impatiently, but Link, for Darmani's sake, not his, was already writing the note:

_Brother, _

_There's something still left for me to do—I'm going to try and help some other people in Termina if I can. Don't expect me back for a few days. Tell the little one I'm sorry I can't come to the races. _

_Darmani_

Yes, that would do…they would not notice, then, that Darmani had disappeared, that he was lying at the base of Snowhead Mountain, that he was dead….

He set the note where he knew someone would find it, then snuck past the Gorons, slipping out into the night.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Romani Ranch

Chapter Thirteen: Romani Ranch

Link ran straight for the Powder Keg shop; the ice blocking it had melted, and it was all too easy for him to walk into the giant cavern, where someone that could have been Biggoron, or his twin brother perhaps, lay on his belly at the far end, his entire body below the shoulders hidden in a tunnel in the rock.

"Ohhh! Darmani!" said the Goron in a booming voice. "I was wondering when I'd see you…I heard what you did in Snowpeak!" Link kept a straight face, but smiled wryly in his head; how could all of them know if he'd never told them? "I apologize, I should've helped you, but I don't know what's gotten into me these past few days…I woke up and it was spring again, and I was at the bottom of the valley! Strange…so strange…. But," he said airily, waving an enormous hand, "All's well, I don't need to guard the temple anymore, so I'm back in my shop! Did you want a Powder Keg?" Link nodded. "Ohhh, of course…do you have your license with you?" Link winced; the Goron laughed. "It's fine, it's fine! I gave you one ages ago, it's no trouble making another…hmm…."

He reached to his left, then to his right, searching through piles and piles of crates and cloth and endless rubbish, finally coming up with a piece of paper almost as big as Darmani's body and a charcoal stick that looked like a crayon in his big fingers. The paper already had big, clumsy words written on it; Biggoron filled in a blank near the top, tongue between his teeth, then turned the paper around and handed it to Darmani along with the charcoal stick. "Sign at the bottom…there you go," he said approvingly as Link made a ragged squiggle on the line. Biggoron handed him the paper, which he folded up until it was about the size of a thick book. "And here's your Keg—no, no, it's no trouble, I can't make you pay for it, not when I was supposed to keep all the curses out of Snowhead! There."

He handed Link something rather like a water barrel, painted with a crude yellow skull and crossbones, with a long wick trailing to the floor. It had a strap attached; Link slung it over his shoulders.

"Use it well!" Biggoron called cheerfully as he left.

The Powder Keg was not heavy—not for a Goron, anyway. All the same, Link decided to leave behind the drums—he had his ocarina if he needed to play a song, and they did not belong to him….

He marched steadily southward, smiling as he passed dozens of preoccupied honey bees and several croaking frogs, noticing hundreds of fish in the stream as he crossed the bridge. The pass was quite pleasant now, grassy instead of snowy, the air fresh and light and warm….

"Link," Tatl said slowly, "Do you really think that your horse will be at Romani Ranch?"

Link nodded, frowning. Was that what it was called?

"Well…I guess it's worth a try…but let's go around to the west and look at Great Bay, we need to figure out how to get past it if it's really blocked….

Link wasn't paying much attention; he wished he could ask Tatl how exactly Epona had been stolen, and what had happened to her, even though she obviously did not know where she was now. It was a clue, at least…and he felt so vulnerable, so _slow_, without his beloved horse….

It took them several hours to reach Great Bay, quite a bit longer than it would have taken him in his Hylian body; by then it was the middle of the night, and it was difficult to see where they were going. Link relied mostly on his map, which Tatl illuminated for him whenever he asked. In Hyrule, he thought remorsefully, he could have known exactly where he was just by looking at the stars…but the stars were different here, he could see no patterns at all to them, and anyway the moon, huge and low in the sky, blocked most of them…. It grew so dark after awhile, since there was no real moon to cast light over the world, that Link could not even see the mountain range that he was following southwest—which was a problem, because the map said that the pass between two mountains was the easiest way into the Bay—otherwise one would have to go around the last mountain, a day and a half's journey….

And then, quite abruptly, the ground beneath him gave way; he stumbled, nearly falling, and looked around to find himself walking on sand. He didn't like it much; it reminded him of the desert, everything from how his feet shifted with every step to the chill wind blowing across the whitish-yellow grains, which held no heat, so it was quite cold after the sun set. Link, who had had enough of cold weather in the mountains, shivered as he marched stoically westward, Tatl drifting ahead of him.

The rubble the Gorons had mentioned was at first quite inconspicuous: a few splinters here, a shower of pebbles there. But then Link found himself surrounded by debris, which completely blocked the narrow pass: it looked as if someone had dropped a ship here from a great height. And Link thought he knew who would do such a thing…. His suspicions were confirmed when he found a low point in the rubble blocking his way, which would have been easy enough to scale, had great metal spikes not been implanted quite deliberately into the wood like a porcupine's quills. He could not see a way past them: the spikes made this part of it taller than he was, even as a Goron. It made his blood boil with anger when he saw it: it had so obviously been designed specifically to keep him out.

Tatl looked around, wings drooping. "I can't see how to get through here," she sighed. "I think your Powder Keg would just make it worse…."

It would, yes—an explosion like that would cause the two mountains to collapse, perhaps blocking the pass for good. But this did not daunt Link; it actually made him feel better, because now Tatl could not refuse him a trip to Romani Ranch—he spent several minutes miming to her until she finally understood that Epona could jump clear over the wreckage if they found her….

"All right, all right," Tatl sighed. "I just thought it was worth checking, is all. Maybe you should leave that Powder Keg here? It's slowing us down."

But Link refused, miming again: they had gotten the Keg in the first place to help unblock the path to Romani Ranch. Tatl, with no arguments left in her, was forced to give in, and Link started across the sands with fresh energy, heading due south.

The sun was rising by the time they had passed the final mountain and reached the path through the forest that the map assured them would lead right to the ranch; several signs concurred with this promise, so Link and Tatl turned onto the path and followed it as it meandered westward. Link watched the sunrise turn the forest sky from deepest blue to all sorts of light, vibrant colors, and finally to a whitish-blue that would deepen to cerulean as the day aged. He had always loved to watch the sun rise in the forest; he loved how the trees slowly took on form, each detail emerging in perfect clarity as the light strengthened….

And yet it was not his forest—not the Kokiri Forest at all. There was far less magic in the air, for one thing, and no Deku Tree, and no Kokiri people….

"Link," said Tatl suddenly, as the forest around them cleared enough to show a branch in the path ahead, the left fork heading south, blocked by a short gate. A nearby sign said "Gorman Racetrack". "We're almost there…the racetrack opens up right in front of it…."

They turned a corner; Link expected to see something, anything, blocking the way, but to his astonishment, there were only scattered gray pieces of rock. A man with a pickax, who looked like one of the construction workers in Clock Town, was sitting against a nearby tree, wiping his sweaty brow. Link hid from him and took off his Goron mask, abandoning the Powder Keg behind a tree, then ran out to speak to the worker.

"You're just in time," he panted, looking up at him. "I just—just opened the way—a few minutes ago. It was hard…there was a boulder as big as a house blocking the ranch…. But I did it," he said proudly. Then his expression soured. "Only wish I got paid a bit more for it…."

Link hesitated, then darted back to the Powder Keg and rolled it, with difficulty, over to the man, who stumbled to his feet, gaping.

"But—but that's a—you were bringing that to help me? Oh…thank you very much…I only wish you'd come a bit sooner…. Do you mind if I take this, though? The Mayor is paying top rupees for these right now…."

Link nodded; the man, delighted, snatched the Keg, thanked him profusely, and walked off with it, bowed beneath its weight.

"Great," said Tatl, exasperated. "You had to come all this way with it, only to give it away to someone who probably won't benefit from it at all—oh, come on, Link, the moon's going to fall tomorrow, and if we go back in time he won't get anything out of it!"

This was true, but Link shrugged it away; he just didn't want Skull Kid to have the Keg, but there was no way to explain that to Tatl without wasting precious time.

There was a clearing to his left, which he guessed was the exit to the racetrack; straight ahead, however, was a large wooden archway inscribed with the words "Romani Ranch". With a thrill of excitement, he ran forward into an enormous clear space, up a small grassy hill, and looked around at the ranch.

The grass was dotted with small trees here and there and a lot of shrubbery; there were fences crisscrossing each other in a way he could not make much sense out of. There were two buildings far in the distance, small ones, and two larger ones straight ahead…. He ran toward them, leaping over the fences that crossed his path, too impatient to find gates, until he came to a big house and, right beside it, a barn—

It was nothing like Lon Lon Ranch in Hyrule, not really, but similar enough for him to know where Epona would be—in the barn, with the cows, since it was so early in the day….

But once he had broken into the barn, picking the lock with a bit of metal he kept around for such purposes, he was surprised to find it nearly empty; there were a couple of chickens pecking around, but though there were dozens of stalls on either side, they were all barren…. He walked slowly past them, checking each one carefully, able to tell by the type of food and droppings which ones had held cows, and which horses…. Most of them were for cows; there were several for horses, but only one horse, an old white one that sniffed and snorted at him as he passed it….

It was no use—Epona was not here—

"Link! LINK!"

Link looked around, his hand flying to the hilt of his sword by instinct, but then, when he saw Tatl dancing joyfully in front of one of the last stalls, and heard a familiar whinny, he broke into a run.

"That's your horse!" Tatl said as he ran up to the stall and tried to open it; it was locked. "Wow, I wonder how it got here…and why nobody noticed…."

But Link did not care about this; he was trying to reach over the stall to pet Epona, who did not seem to recognize him, and then, when he could not reach, rattled the gate, frustrated—

"We'll need the key," Tatl said shrewdly. "We'll just get one of the ranch people to—"

But then she froze, darting into Link's hat; Link looked around, frowning, unable to hear anything—but then he heard the door at the far end of the barn creak open…he heard echoing footsteps….

He looked up—then thought he saw—but it could not be—he ran forward, and slowly, the young woman with flaming-red hair came into focus—

He could not believe his eyes.

_Malon! _


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Saving the Ranch

_A/N: And we're back! Sorry about the break, but I started playing Majora's Mask again and had to get back into the story! This chapter is a test to see who still wants to read it. The more favorites and reviews and such I get, the harder I'll work on the next chapter, and the sooner it'll go up! _

_Enjoy!_

_~CRH_

Chapter Fourteen: Saving the Ranch

How could Malon be _here_? And how could she be so old when he was still so little? He ran to meet her, smiling and blushing slightly—he never knew what to do with himself, what exactly he should feel, with Malon around….

But when she looked down at him, looked straight at him, he realized that it wasn't her. The expression in her eyes was hopelessness, despair—and even in the most difficult of times, Malon had never looked like that. She had never given up—but this woman obviously had.

And she didn't recognize him. He knew that at once. Malon, even if she were in a different world, would have recognized him for sure….

"What?" murmured the Malon-lookalike, frowning at him. "Who…?" Then she sighed. "There's no milk, little boy…the cows were all stolen…." She drifted past him, to the very end of the barn; Link followed her, feeling suddenly lonely…for one shining moment, he had thought that he'd see Malon again, who he missed more than anyone, more than even Navi….

Tatl sensed his disappointment and tried to comfort him as best as she could, settling in his hair like a nest and exuding warmth and sympathy. It helped a little, but not much—it didn't bring Malon back.

As he trailed along behind this woman, she continued to talk, half to him and half to herself, as she let the old white horse out and led him outside. "No more cows…I don't even know where to…not even any steers left…Father's herd…what would he say if he saw how his ranch…? Ohhh, I should have listened to Romani, I should have…."

Link could not think of a way to tell her about Epona and ask to keep her, not when she was too distracted to so much as focus on him. Even a written request would probably not work—he wouldn't blame this woman for refusing to care about anyone else's problems, not when her cows—her most valuable livestock, if this ranch was anything like Lon Lon Ranch—were all gone, and when the moon was about to fall.

He did not know what to do; he followed her as she led the horse to a nearby trough and drew some water for him from a well. He ended up helping her do it—unlike Malon, she was not very strong or very tough. She did not thank him; she just mumbled something that sounded like, "Leave me alone already," and turned to go back inside.

This was when Link knew something was really wrong: not only was she going inside after five minutes of work, when even without the cows there were hundreds of chores to do each day, but her step quickened when she headed for the house, and he had a sudden feeling that something was very wrong. Always one to trust his feelings, he decided to head inside the house; when Tatl objected, alarmed by the way the moon rumbled overhead, he ignored her completely. If she didn't know him well enough to understand, then he would never have enough time to explain it to her….

The young woman was so distraught, so distracted, that she actually held the door open for Link to let him in, even though he knew at first glance that this was her home, too private for all but the most important customers: it was just like Malon's house in Hyrule, a big room and a small bathroom downstairs, a set of steps leading upward. The big room was half sitting room, half kitchen, with most of the floor taken up by a big dining table and a few faded, squashy armchairs. It was a very comforting home, just like Malon's, though with an obvious woman's touch that Malon's lacked: the floor was covered by a homemade rug, white and light blue and lilac, there was a pristine white tablecloth, and the whole room was quite clean.

"Have a seat," muttered the young woman, pointing to an armchair—and then she seemed to forget about him. She turned away from him and headed up the stairs, again with that urgency that put his nerves on edge: he followed without thinking about it, trying to be as quiet as he could on the stairs, knowing he was crossing the line.

This house was smaller than Malon's, he realized: there were only two bedrooms up here. The young woman ignored the first door, rushing through the second; she left it wide open, and Link hesitated, then peeked in. Tatl flew out of his hat to take a closer look as well.

The room was large, neat, and very girlish; it had two beds, one large and one small, the large one covered in a white-and-blue counterpane, the small one very pink. The young woman crossed the room and knelt beside the small bed, and when she moved aside slightly Link saw that a little girl was laying in it, who looked just like Malon as well, but younger…Link's age…. The girl was alarmingly pale, her face badly bruised.

"Are you feeling any better, Romani?" the young woman asked, brushing her forehead tenderly with her hand. She was too young to be the girl's—Romani's—mother, so they must be sisters….

The girl didn't seem to understand her. "Cremia," she whined, "my head hurts…."

"I know, sweetie…just try to rest, okay?"

"I'm sorry," murmured Romani. "I tried to stop the aliens…there were too many…and they took the cows anyway…."

"I know, Romani—it's okay. I promise." But she sounded like she was about to cry—Link wondered, his stomach plummeting at the thought, just how injured the little girl was….

"I told you they'd come," sighed Romani, closing her eyes. "They come every year two days before the carnival…but Daddy kept them away…."

Two days before the carnival…three days before the moon fell….

Link felt a surge of hope: _he could save them. _

He turned away and ran back outside, darting into the barn where he would not be heard. Then he found his ocarina and raised it to his lips. Tatl followed after him, alarmed, but before she could say a word the Song of Time rang out, shaky at first, then growing stronger and louder until it was all around him, all there was…. He closed his eyes against the blinding whiteness, against the swirling clocks, and kept them closed until he heard the bustle of Clock Town, the _clunk_ of each second passing from the clock tower….

"Link, what are you doing?" Tatl demanded, annoyed, as he put on his Goron mask and hurried into East Clock Town, the main shopping district, and started up the street, looking at the signs. "What—I thought we were getting your horse? Are you really going to go this far over some delusional kid? What are you—?"

She paused as another Goron, wearing a blue beret and carrying an enormous pack, walked past him, saluting him with a wave and a "Goro," the traditional greeting of Gorons. Link swiveled around and followed behind him: there weren't any bomb shops around here, but maybe this Goron wanted what he wanted as well….

But the Goron disappointed Link: he led him to West Clock Town, then immediately turned into the bank, leaving Link very confused.

"Link—over there," Tatl pointed out, and he looked and saw a sign hanging over a door with a picture of a small bomb….

He ran inside, as quickly as he could with all his bulk, and looked around for the Goron that should be here….

The bomb shop was dim, low-ceilinged, earthy-looking, not very clean. A skinny, creepy-looking man was leaning against the counter, staring at him suspiciously; but then his mother walked out from a back room, and the doting look on his face made Link recall his first impression. He turned away.

In the back corner of the room, hard to see in the bad lighting, was the Goron he was looking for, curled up and napping. He hurried forward, tapping the Goron on the shoulder. The Goron uncurled, stood up, stretched, and looked him over. "Ohhh!" he said after a moment, smiling. "A Goron! It's nice to see another Goron." He obviously did not recognize Link as Darmani; he wasn't sure if this was good or bad. "Did you want a Powder Keg?" asked the Goron, then lowered his voice and added, "You know these little bombs won't do us any good."

Link nodded fervently, reaching into his bag; before the Goron could ask, he showed him the license.

"Ohhh, _you're_ Darmani? Well met, goro!" exclaimed the Goron. "For you, fifty rupees, a steal!" He lifted a Powder Keg from the floor beside him and handed it to Link, who took it carefully, aware of how dangerous they were. "I can only give you one at a time," apologized the Goron, "but if you need another one…."

Link nodded in thanks, hurrying out of the shop with the Powder Keg over his shoulder, his temper rising slowly. Tatl darted out, red with rage, and said, "That evil sneak! The townspeople really need it, but he'll give you one so cheap when you can get them somewhere else?"

Link nodded in wholehearted agreement, then made a swift pantomime; Tatl understood, even though his hands and fingers were quite clumsy as a Goron.

"Yeah, maybe we should give one to the Mayor—but we might need the other two, Link! And—and look—nothing anyone else does will make much of a difference, except what _we're_ doing, and if we go back in time…."

Link hated to agree, but he understood what she meant: at this point, no one could help them, and they could only help a few, and never permanently. It was what he hated most about Termina, knowing that no matter what good things he did, they would have no effect if he went back in time…and knowing even as he walked how the Gorons, the Dekus, the townspeople were suffering, and unable to help them….

"You can't save everyone, Link," Tatl told him sternly, as if she sensed what he was thinking. "There's just not enough time. The only way you can help them is if you stop the moon from falling—then they'll have enough time to help themselves."

Yes, stop the moon…and stop Skull Kid…maybe if he did that, there was some way to reverse all he had done….

He headed for Romani Ranch at full speed; he reached the path leading there before midmorning. He heard the crashing, crunching, and grunting long before he saw the enormous boulder blocking the path, and the same worker from before hacking at it with the pickax…. He grimaced at the big rock, now fully understanding why it had taken the man two days and two nights to break it apart.

He approached; the man heard him and turned around, drawing back nervously as he saw Link, who towered over him. Link, undettered, silently handed the man the Powder Keg.

The man looked at the Keg, then looked up at him—then grabbed his ax and ran away with a frightened howl, cowering on the path with his arms over his head a hundred yards away. Link understood after a moment, and had to bite back a laugh; he grabbed the fuse, ripped it in half, lit it with magic, then turned and rolled out of the way.

The explosion made his teeth rattle in his head; it hurt his ears and shook the ground so hard that the cowering man was knocked over. But Link kept his balance, running forward before the dust had cleared, changing back into a Hylian as he went. He increased his speed, thinking of Epona, and the two sisters, and if he could help them….

He ran through the ranch at full speed once more, clambering over the fences and jumping off of them as they approached him, heading for the big house and the barn. And this time, it was drastically different around the ranch. A pale, skeletal young man that Link recognized as Grog, Anju's brother, was sitting on a crate in the shade cast by the barn, playing with palm-sized chicks covered in yellow fuzz. There was a little white dog running around, rolling in the long grass, yipping and growling as it chased a beetle. The open barn echoed with the mooing of cows. And Romani, in perfect health, was running around the barn, letting out fearless war cries as she twanged a tiny bow that did not seem to have arrows. Link winced as he saw this—dry-shooting was very bad for bows—then ran forward, approaching the girl, who turned to face him with a bemused expression.

"Huh?" she said. "Are you looking for Cremia?" He shook his head. "Didja want something?" He shook his head again. She looked him over carefully, then, frowning a little, demanded, "What's your name?"

Link tapped his throat, which most people understood to mean that he could not speak; Romani, however, did not. She laughed at him, giggling madly as she said, "Your name is _Throat? _Hah! You need a better name—Romani will call you Grasshopper, because you're so green! Heehee!"

Link smiled; he did not mind this very much. Malon, too, had given him a nickname; it made him hopeful that this girl would be more like her than Cremia was.

"Grasshopper," said Romani bossily, "Romani is recruiting people to help her defeat the aliens coming tonight! Will you help?"

Link nodded; Tatl prodded him, annoyed, but he ignored her. Romani clapped her hands, delighted.

"Great! Do you have a bow, Grasshopper? _Really?_" she said when he nodded, and he took it out and showed it to her. She looked awed: it was a lot better than hers, and he actually had arrows to go with it. "That's great! Can you ride a horse?"

At this, Tatl froze, and Link felt his heart tighten; he nodded, hardly daring to believe that maybe this girl would….

"That's great! Come on!" cried Romani, and she led him into the barn; a lump rose in Link's throat as she used a broom to prod a ring of keys off of the wall (the keys had certainly not been there the first time) and used one to unlock Epona's stall.

"Here, horsey," said Romani coaxingly, but Epona would not come out; she whinnied loudly when Romani tried to come closer. The little girl hesitated, then darted away, returning in seconds with an apple; she waved it in front of Epona's nose, but Epona, as Link knew very well, was not one to accept bribes, especially when frightened. "Come on, pony, it's okay," wheedled Romani, but Link was reaching for his ocarina—he had not remembered before, but there was only one way to calm Epona down: with Malon's song….

He played the song, a short, simple, and sweet melody, that made the cow's mooing increase in tempo and passion, made the old horse lift its head and whinny, and made Epona stiffen, then run forward, sniffing Link thoroughly, licking him all over. He laughed as he hugged her neck and petted her copper-colored hair, and something in him unwound from a tight ball, flooding him with relief. Tatl hid inside his hat, reluctant to come out: Link could not be sure, but he thought that she thought the horse would be afraid of her. He took the apple from Romani and gave it to Epona, who bit into it, unable to eat it all at once, and crunched on it happily, covering Link's hand with juice and slobber as she reached for the second piece.

Romani laughed, leading Link over to a nearby basin, where he washed his hands. Then she showed Link where Epona's saddle and reins were, chattering away about how the pony had come running in the day before, all wild and scared and covered in foam, and that Cremia and Romani had had to tie her in place to get her saddle off, and hadn't been able to bathe her or get her to eat…. But Epona was docile enough now, and she let Link wash her and brush her and give her some oats in a nosebag as he strapped her saddle onto her back. Epona did not really need her bit or the reins—she didn't even need the saddle, really—but he could not leave them here; he had to take them with him. So they were just for show—and besides, he didn't want to listen to Romani's questions if he left them off.

Romani ran out of the barn; Link climbed onto Epona and followed her, smiling broadly at the familiar feel of riding his horse, who Malon and Talon had given him as a good-bye present, who had seemed to remember him even after he'd gone back to a time when none of it had happened, who had saved his life countless times in Hyrule….

Romani did not say anything to Link right away; instead, she sat on the ground and took several orange balloons out of a crate, then, declining help, proceeded to blow up ten of them, tying a bag on a string to each one and weighing them down. Then she ran around the barn, scattering the balloons here and there in the bushes, on the grass, behind the house…. Finally, she ran up to Link, who was petting Epona as he watched, and said, "Okay, Grasshopper! Romani wants you and Pony to ride around the barn and pop the balloons as fast as you can, with your arrows! That's what you'll have to do to the aliens tonight! Can you do it?"

Link nodded, suppressing a laugh; this would be all too easy. If he could do more than that while his life was in danger, what was stopping him now?

"Okay—ready? GO!" Romani cried, and Link spurred Epona forward, drawing his bow; he steered her by nudging her with his knees as he aimed for each balloon and popped them with his arrows, and she responded beautifully as he circled around the barn, loosing arrow after arrow, until he had shot down the last one. Then he rode back over to Romani, who was counting under her breath as she watched him—she had not even reached thirty yet.

"Wow!" she said, eyes wide. "Wow, you're good, Grasshopper! With you Romani will definitely defeat the aliens! It won't be easy because Daddy's not here to help us anymore, but we can do it! Listen—the aliens are coming _tonight_, at three in the morning, when it's darkest, and they'll keep coming until daylight—if we don't stop them, they'll take all the cows, and we need the cows, Grasshopper! Cremia says most of the money we make is from selling milk in Clock Town, because our milk is the best milk in the world! So you gotta help!"

Link nodded, clutching his bow tightly; if that's what it took….

"Great," sighed Romani. "Romani feels better…would Grasshopper like to stay at the ranch today? If you spend the night, it'll be easier for you to be here when the aliens come!"

Link nodded once more; he knew Tatl disapproved, but he would like nothing more than to spend a day with her at the ranch, as he used to do with Malon all the time, and see if she was anything like his best friend….

Romani tugged him off of Epona at once and dragged him around the ranch: she introduced him to Grog, who let them play with the chicks for a while; then to a fat woman who rented one of the smaller buildings and raised dogs; then to Cremia, who hummed as she fed the animals and did not mind at all if Link stayed the night. And then, once Cremia was busy elsewhere, Romani showed Link how she had secretly hidden a few crates around the barn, and opened one to show him a surprising amount of crude arrows: she told him that she had made them just for this night, and that he could use all he wanted, and then they practiced until Cremia came back. Link had retrieved his own arrows, but he used Romani's for the practicing: they were actually good ones, though they did not fly very far, and even though the shafts were sharpened at the tip instead of having real arrowheads, Romani assured him that they would be sharp enough to stop the aliens.

Cremia told them to make themselves a sandwich for lunch; Link, who had never had a sandwich before, watched Romani make hers, then copied her, adding a lot of cheese instead of meat. It was strangely delicious for such a simple meal—though it could not compare to Cremia's cooking that evening. Dinner consisted of vegetable soup, salad, fresh bread, and a dish with noodles and white sauce that was wonderful even though Link had to pick out the pieces of chicken.

And then it was time for the nighttime chores, which Link helped with: locking up the barn, counting the chickens before shutting them into their coop, brushing the two horses and giving them some warm oats, hanging a sign from a nail on the house's front door that said, "Romani Ranch—open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m." And then Cremia lit a fire in the two bedrooms and made them hot chocolate, which they drank in front of Romani's bedroom's fire as Cremia prepared Link's room for him. Then it was time for bed—Romani nudged him with a significant look as he followed Cremia out, and he nodded to her, then slipped into his room. It was tiny compared to Romani's room, but bigger than his entire house in Kokiri forest; it was cozy and neat, and the bed was soft. He hesitated before pulling back the covers, unsure if he should stay alert instead of dozing.

"You won't be able to sleep, remember?" Tatl pointed out, darting out of his hat as he took it off and hung it on the bedpost. "Just nap. And anyway, if you want I'll keep checking the clock downstairs, and I'll let you know when it's almost time."

He liked this idea; smiling gratefully at her, he took off his boots and belt, slipped into the bed, and closed his eyes.

Seconds later, it seemed, someone was calling for him—at least he thought it was for him. The voice was so familiar….

"Grasshopper…grasshopper…."

He stumbled out of bed and followed the voice, the long red hair, wondering dazedly why the room was awash in orange light, why the cows were lowing nervously in the barn, why Romani was so panicked. "Stay outside and hold them off!" she told him when they reached the front door. "I'll stop them from getting into the barn!"

She ran outside, hurrying off into the night, and Link followed her at a sleepwalker's pace, looking around the pasture. It had seemed so peaceful and happy in the afternoon light, but now, awash with light from what looked like bright orange lanterns, all black and orange, the shapes of the barn and the house and the grass flat and two-dimensional. Tonight, the ranch looked like a nightmare.

The barn door slammed and locked: he was on his own now. Hold them off? Hold _what _off? Whatever was holding the lanterns…?

But no—as one came closer, he realized that the creatures _were _the lanterns—their eyes blinded his with powerful beams of light, so painful that it made his eyes water as he lifted a hand to shade them. He fumbled with his bow, hardly knowing what to aim for if he couldn't see—the space between the eyes, that was it, but his arms were shaking so badly he could barely nock the arrow—

He fired. It missed, but only by a couple of inches, passing through the creature's neck—it met no resistance, but the creature screeched in agony, its eyes extinguishing for a moment—revealing a green, amorphous _thing_ with bloated features and deformed arms and no legs whatsoever—before it exploded into dust.

It had been closer than Link had thought—far, far too close. And there were so many—

He fired three quick arrows at the closest beams of light, extinguishing two, then ran around the barn, killing at least five more. But there were more on the way, tumbling down from somewhere in the sky, it appeared. He needed a way to see them all—needed some height—

The cold night wind brushed past him as he climbed onto the roof of the barn, the ladder around the back creaking and groaning under his feet. One at the peak of the roof, he took careful aim at an approaching creature and fired calmly; it died with another screech, this one almost too distant to reach him.

He was no longer shaking; he had lost his panic and settled into a groove, nocking and releasing arrows without thinking about it, without caring very much what he was shooting at. And he stayed like this for over an hour, shooting and killing the creatures without allowing himself a single spare thought about what, exactly, they were….

And then his arms began to tire, and he started to feel claustrophobic, worrying that they would never stop coming, and he couldn't remember how long Romani had said they would stay, and he was slipping up, missing, and he kept having to go back down for more arrows, and he was running low….

A terrified scream from the barn; Link whirled around and shot down a creature creeping up from behind, reaching for the barn's only window. His heart was still racing long after it died—too close, that was too close, and he was faltering, but if he failed….

No more of Malon's arrows…he was using his own now, and making them count…soon he would have to go down to the pasture, hunt in the grass for the arrows he had already shot, and that would take too long, far too long….

Was it just him, or was the sky getting lighter…?

And then, suddenly, as if responding to a call that Link could not hear, the creatures froze; he held his breath as they looked at each other, then looked upward, the light from their eyes fading. Then they seemed to rise upward into the predawn mist, and a moment later they were gone—as if they'd never even been.

Link climbed down the ladder for the last time, losing his balance on the final few rungs and falling to the ground on shaking legs. Romani unlatched the barn door and came over to meet him, looking so much older than she was as she wrapped her arms silently around his neck. She hugged him tightly, whispering, "Thanks, Grasshopper…I was so scared…."

Link hugged her back, wincing as the pre-sunrise glow illuminated the window beside them, covered in scratches from massive fingernails. So close…and if he had failed, then what? Would Malon have…?

No—no, she was not Malon, she was not his best friend—

But she was his friend. And he was so glad she was going to be okay.

Romani sighed, then took his hand, leading him back into the house. She took him upstairs, but instead of leading him to his bedroom, she brought him into hers, pulling him onto the bed beside her. "Don't leave yet," she pleaded, closing her eyes as she snuggled against him. "I was so scared…."

Link let her go; he felt a sudden wave of affection for her as he hugged her, thinking that she wasn't so different from Malon, really. After all, how many times had he and Malon shared a bed? Even when they were older, though he thought it might have meant something different then, but he had been so confused, his mind was still nine years old even though his body was sixteen, and he couldn't have said what _she _meant by it….

That was one more reason to get to Hyrule, he thought: so he could find Malon, and grow up while she grew up, and figure it all out.

But for the first time since his arrival, he thought that he would be sad to leave this place behind.


End file.
